After All
by reiniku
Summary: Naraku is gone but his presence still lingers on. A deadly confrontation will leave Inu Yasha with a choice. Will he fall prey to the schemes of the deceased or stay true to the present?
1. Prelude: Fleeting Thoughts

**So, it's been a while since I've logged in to here (on the order of years). I've reread my old fics and realize that some editing is in order, though I've decided that only grammar will be edited. My writing style has changed in the time that I've been away and I don't want to take away from the story that was liked. On a different note, I might actually get to finishing this story!**

I do not own Inu Yasha, the plot, the characters or really anything.

PRELUDE

Fleeting Thoughts

Tonight was slightly cooler than the usual summer night, but it was clear none the less. Small insects were singing their evening songs while others just lurked in the darkness. It truly was a perfect place to ponder. Being on top of this hill made you feel as if you were on top of the world; everything seemed in view from just this one place. But the view wasn't necessarily what made this hill so unique. It was its odd aura of tranquility. Perhaps that's why she took advantage of the peacefulness offered here at such a late hour, using it just to swim in her thoughts.

The girl was seated on the grass, a light breeze playing with her hair. For some reason the peace offered by her surroundings didn't seem to be calming her.

Slowly she was turning the small orb on her necklace in her hand, her eyes intensely glued to the sphere. It was all supposed to end, yet here she was even more confused at this very moment than she had ever been before, and there didn't seem to be any way out of the downward spiral she found herself falling in to.

She looked to the stars, wishing that she could just yell to the heavens and receive her answer. But the stars just brought back memories. Memories that should have been happy, but were somehow disheartening. They had finally done it, after over a year of battles they had managed to face off against Naraku and destroy him, retrieving most of the Shikon jewel shards in the process. It had been a difficult battle, and even Kikyou had come to their aide. That thought made her heart ache, but she reminded herself of the victory that Kikyou had helped, and without her help, they may have all perished. Kikyou had disappeared after that. No one knew whether she was still in this world, or if she had passed on. She felt guilty, but she hoped it was the latter.

Then there was victory. Of course, that was what they all wanted, to destroy Naraku, but now what?

That question had plagued her ever since Naraku's demise. Even prior to that she had often wondered what would happen, but there was still a feeling that this day would never come. In some ways there mission was not complete and she understood that. There were still a few sacred jewel fragments out there, some they knew the whereabouts of, a few that they did not. That was the next step in their journey, the obligation that was holding her to this world. But once the sacred jewel was whole, what would happen to it? Who would possess it? What would they use it for? What would happen to her? Strangely these questions had never truly worried her prior to Naraku's downfall. Everything had just appeared to be so far away.

More and more questions continued to plague here mind and it was beginning to ware on her nerves. Kagome sighed as she brought her arms around herself, making a futile effort to try and fight away the cold night air. Her eyes came down to stare at the dark blades of grass shimmering in the moonlight. So many questions, and still no answers.

There was one thing that she did know though. The jewel caused nothing but heartache to its possessor, whether their intentions are good or evil. Who deserved that? Her eyes lifted to the stars once again, but unfortunately they held no answers for her befuddled mind. A wry smile made its way unto her lips. The stars never changed. They were her one constant. She stood up, head bent back so the only thing she could see was the sky. After a few moments she closed her eyes, willing her thoughts to settle.

A swift, cool wind began to blow, catching her skirt, and startling her. Quickly she grabbed the bottom of it to hold it in place. She had no clue how long she had remained in her reverie. It was a good thing that wind caught her, she could have just stood there for hours, and she knew that would cause chaos.

To her knowledge, everyone else was currently asleep, but that could have changed. After all Inu Yasha was very sensitive to his environment, especially when it came to her whereabouts. Slowly she turned in the direction of where they had set up camp. Sleep was vital, and she knew it. Taking one last look at the heavens, she shook her head slightly. It was time to head back to the others. There was no stopping the future.

_What were they all going to do now?_

_

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	2. An Unhealthy Start

Standard disclaimer applies.

**CHAPTER ONE**

**An Unhealthy Start**

The sun had not yet crested upon the horizon, leaving the forest campsite in mostly darkness. There was only that eerie pre-morning light and silence that filling the air.

"AHHHH!" Inu Yasha yelled at the top of his lungs. It was early, but that obviously didn't matter to Inu Yasha who was now fully yelling at Shippo. The other occupants of the site tried to ignore the outburst, clinging to the little sleep they were afforded.

That was becoming a very difficult task for a weary Kagome with Inu Yasha ranting at Shippo for a reason that her young, tired and overworked mind couldn't currently understand at the moment. She turned over onto her stomach, pulling her sleeping bag over her head, trying in vain to stifle out Inu Yasha's booming voice.

"What are you STUPID!" Inu Yasha bellowed even louder.

This was getting ridiculous. _I can't take too much more of this! I need SLEEP!_

"My hair is not your toy!"

"I didn't mean to! I was dreaming! It..."

Nothing more was said as Kagome shot straight up out her sleeping bag surprising and utterly terrifying the two feuding demons with the look on her face.

"Inu Yasha SIT! Shippo be QUIET!" She screamed before plopping herself back down and once again attempting to slumber.

Shippo sat stunned at the outburst, not daring to move or say anything. His eyes looked like they were ready to fall out of his head. Taking a gulp he slowly shifted his fearful gaze to where Inu Yasha who was now sprawled out in a neck bending position face down in the dirt. _Serves him right! Yelling at me like that...I better stay near Kagome today..._ Shippo thought still staring at the half demon, who was now bringing himself to an upright position. Finally meeting Inu Yasha's eyes, Shippo wanted to run. Inu Yasha looked like he was ready to kill the next thing that crossed his path. And unfortunately, here he sat, why did he have to dream about a puppy? If he hadn't had that dream he never would have ended up petting Inu Yasha's head and accidentally pulling his hair.

"You're dead." Inu Yasha seethed as he came to his feet and darted his hand out at Shippo. Forgetting about Kagome's warning, Shippo went into defense mode.

"I didn't mean to! It's not my fault!" He squeaked as Inu Yasha grabbed him by the back of his shirt.

Just as Inu Yasha was about to pound some sense into a wailing Shippo's head when Kagome once again shot up out her sleeping bag. If it was possible, she looked even angrier than she had earlier.

"Inu Yasha" she began, obviously loosing her temper. "SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT! NOW BE QUIET!" She then slipped back to her makeshift bed. "If I hear another peep I swear, I'll... think of something horrific to do to BOTH of you!"

_

* * *

So much for a good night's sleep, Kagome thought as she wearily ate the ramen she had prepared for her and the others when she finally did get up. They were all seated in a circle around a little fire that had been used for making breakfast. That is, everyone except a certain half-demon sat around the fire. Inu Yasha had disappeared probably some time after she threatened him, which she could barely remember at this point. Didn't he realize that others needed sleep?_

He had been gone for just over two hours now. '_It shouldn't be too much longer before he shows up...'_ Kagome thought. As if he could sense her thoughts, Inu Yasha popped up. He quickly and angrily grabbed his portion of the meal and took off to a tree mumbling to himself. Putting a reign on her temper and choosing to ignore him, Kagome glanced over at Miroku and Sango.

Each of them had dark circles under their eyes and both were eating their breakfasts painfully slow. It was obvious that everyone was tired, even Inu Yasha was being more cranky than usual. That final battle against Naraku a few short days ago, three days exactly, had exhausted all of them. And that little 'incident' this morning hadn't helped things at all. Miroku looked slightly happier though, there was a different glow to him. '_I guess I should have expected that. Now he doesn't have to worry about a black hole sucking him and everyone around him in... He finally defeated that curse.' _She thought. Without realizing it, Kagome began to smirk. It didn't seem to reach her eyes, but none the less, it was there, and everyone needed something to brighten their day.

Sango saw the meek smile Kagome gave. It was the first time since right after the battle with Naraku that she had seen Kagome smile. This warmed her heart, Kagome's smiles almost had a power to them, you just wanted to feel happy when she was happy. "Kagome," Sango said, not really giving any indication that she was going to continue.

Lowering her soup and meeting Sango's eyes, Kagome just stared. Her smile had faded. '_Her too...She's been through so much. Losing her entire family, even Kohaku in the end. And here I am moping around...I have so much more than both of them. They are so strong.' _

"What's the matter Kagome?" Sango asked after a few moments of enduring a staring contest with her companion. Finally Kagome seemed to realize she was staring like a mad man at Sango. "Oh, nothing, sorry. I was just thinking." She said brightly. She closed her eyes and gave Sango an over-bearing smile.

"You have been acting strange lately," Miroku added nonchalantly while finishing off his meal. Shippo popped up from his seat behind Miroku. Kagome realized the direction this conversation was taking, and she wasn't going to allow it to go there. Kagome trained her eyes on Miroku, looking at him directly.

"I have?" she asked innocently in response to his query, acting like she had no clue what he could be talking about. In all honesty she had figured that she probably seemed a little melancholy, but nothing serious. Apparently the others noticed, at least a certain three of the others.

"You haven't said much to any of us since that battle. Are you sure you're okay?" Sango asked, knowing that Kagome was hiding something from them.

"Really? I guess I just can't believe it's all over," Kagome said in a cheerful voice. _All over,_ she thought again, but then stopped herself, she didn't want to worry her friends anymore than she had already.

"Kagome, are you sure your not mad at me?" The little kitsune asked. '_Wow, I must have really yelled at him for him to think that,' _Kagome thought as she gave a reassuring smile to Shippo. She set her nearly untouched ramen to the side and scooted over to Shippo, crouching down to eye level with him.

"And why would you think that?" Kagome asked.

"Well, this morning, you were all trying to sleep, and I well..." Shippo said, his words coated with regret.

"Of course, I'm not mad at you! I was just really tired this morning."

He seemed to loosen up at hearing that, but he still kept his attentive eyes on Kagome, the closest thing he had to a mother. '_I bet this has something to do with Inu Yasha,' _Shippo thought. After giving Kagome a brief hug he resumed munching on the remnants of his breakfast. Kagome returned to her food as well. With one bite she realized it was cold and immediately decided just to discard it, she wasn't all that hungry any way.

* * *

Meanwhile, the silver haired half-demon watched the scene below him, his keen ears picking up every word of the conversation.

"What's the matter Kagome?" Sango's voice came. Kagome's reply came shortly after. "Oh, nothing, sorry. I was just thinking."

_Liar, _he thought, still carefully listening to the conversation. Kagome kept reinforcing her previous statements, saying that nothing was wrong. He could tell that was a blatant lie. If nothing was wrong then she wouldn't have those sad looks on her face or be exploding at him and Shippo in the morning. Sure she'd get angry at him even on her best days, but Shippo, never. She even had an excuse of being tired for that whole thing earlier this morning.

"Feh, Stupid girl, moping around all because of nothing." _No_, he knew it wasn't because of nothing, he just wasn't quite sure what it was. He leaned back against the tree, shutting his eyes to think and putting his ears and nose on the look out_. 'Why is she always so confusing! And on top of that, any time she gets into a bad mood, I get brought down right along with her for some un-named reason_. _She is smiling though, that could mean it really was just nothing_...' he thought, trying to shed some light on the situation. His eyes opened to reveal a quite frustrated look. His claws began to dig into the branch he was sitting on. There was no denying the truth, and that was that Kagome was not happy.

Inu Yasha looked at the clear sky as he continued to think, his claws still embedded in the poor tree. '_Maybe she's mad at me. It wouldn't be the first time,' _he thought glumly. '_What could I have done this time?' _He asked himself. He thought back but couldn't pinpoint anything he'd done in particular. Granted, the only thing on his mind lately had been Naraku. Even after his demise the demon still controlled his life. But shouldn't Kagome be relieved if not excited about their victory? It didn't make sense and he didn't like feeling as if was his fault she was upset. '_Besides this morning, I don't remember doing anything to cause this... and she was moody before that... I must have done something really stupid. Or maybe she misses those stupid friends of hers in her time. I don't see why she even bothers with them. Especially that stupid Hobo guy. Huh...Idiots.' _Pulling himself out of that train of thought for now he noted the position of the sun. There was nothing he could, or would, do about Kagome. There dawdling had caused more time than planned to pass. Now, if they didn't get going soon, they wouldn't make it to Kaede's by nightfall. It was time for them to get off their rear ends and get moving. And Inu Yasha was just the person to go down there and say so.

Jumping down from the tree to grumpily get everyone going, he could feel that this just wasn't going to be a good day.

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	3. New Acquaintances

Standard Disclaimer applies.

**CHAPTER TWO**

**New Acquaintances**

It was the same old story. They were all walking tirelessly along the road to another village. Well at least someone was walking tirelessly.

"Hey, do you think we could take a break? We've been walking forever," Kagome said, her question mostly directed toward Inu Yasha.

"Feh. If it were up to you we'd stop every two minutes," Inu Yasha said gruffly as he continued to trudge forward through the forest.

"Inu Yasha, It's well past mid day, we should stop for at least a lunch break," Miroku added nonchalantly as he strode next to Sango. He too was actually slightly tired from this mornings events.

"You too now monk? What's with you humans, can't you go for more than five minutes without complaining?" Inu Yasha grumbled. He showed no signs of stopping any time soon.

"This is ridiculous, he's not even listening to us," Sango said slightly irritated. "Usually he's a little better than this." Even in his better moods, it was always an uphill battle though.

"I betcha he's still mad about this morning. Aren't ya Inu Yasha?" Shippo said as he jumped up near him. He was met by a thoroughly agitated glare from the half demon.

"You caused it runt!" Inu Yasha boomed.

"Did not! You're just mean!" Shippo yelled back.

Sango, Miroku, and Kagome took on a look of exhaustion as the two began to fight for the millionth time that day. Before they knew it Shippo was wailing with a gigantic bump protruding from his head caused by Inu Yasha's anger.

"Do you always have to hit him? I really should say 'it'." Kagome said rather solemnly, looking down at the packed earth that her feet were encompassing. She merely got a grunt as a reply from Inu Yasha. She took that as a hint that he didn't want to be sat, so he would cut it out for now.

"Let's stop for a little bit," Kagome said knowing full well that Inu Yasha had no choice but to agree or he would be sat. Luckily all around them was very nice terrain, so they could stop just about anywhere and have lunch. They had all decided to just take a seat in the small clearing adjacent to the road they were traveling. It was surrounded by shrubbery and forest, but it was actually quite a beautiful spot. As expected, Inu Yasha jumped up in a tree as soon as they had figured out where they were going to have lunch. Apparently he wanted to be alone and brood. '_Oh well,' _Kagome thought with a sigh.

Discarding her thoughts she pulled out some crackers she had in her bag along with a few miniature bags of chips and other things. '_This should get him down here,' _she assured herself as she set out the food for everyone to share. It wasn't long before the wind began to carry the scent of the crunchy, untouched potato chips.

* * *

Meanwhile

It was quite dark, especially inside the cave of the wolf demon tribe. But that didn't stop him from noticing. "What the hell is that!" Kouga yelled, startling the rest of his pack from their slumber. As they opened their eyes, they all saw a small, insect like demon hovering above their wounded and probably dieing allies. All of them just stared, waiting for the strange creature to do something. After a few tense moments, the creature slowly moved into the chest of a female wolf demon, emerging with a small light held tightly in its clutches.

It was as if they were all frozen, no one moved a muscle. Kouga couldn't even believe what he was seeing. Who in the hell would have the nerve to try and threaten his clan like this? To try to take his allies' souls was ridiculous! His eyes never left the demon, and as it began to recede out of the den, he finally snapped out of his dumbstruck state.

"What the hell do you think you're doin'! You can't escape me!" He took off after the demon, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He cursed himself, noticing that he would have to take the long way down the cliff in order to follow the air-born thief. The tribe's den was very high up in the side of the mountain, and even he didn't jump the whole way down. But that just made him move faster down the dark paths. He knew them all like the back of his hand, and there was no way he was going to let such a rinky-dink little demon take one of his companion's souls. The one thing he hated more than dog-breath were those who thought they'd pull something over on him. '_Oh, whoever they are, there gonna get it_.'

_

* * *

Strange, usually all of my soul snatchers would have returned to me by now, I'm still missing one. _She gave pause to the thought and brushed it away. She could survive off of the other souls that had been brought to her, she just wouldn't be at her peak._Damn this body, _she thought as she brought a hand up to stare at it. Ever since that battle, her powers seemed to be fading._ Damn! _She knew she had over exerted herself, but she had no idea that the effects would be this long-lived. Since then she had been feeling slightly strange, like she wasn't herself. No matter how many human souls she fed off of, none of them seemed to satisfy her body's need for energy. There just wasn't enough power in them. So she had decided to try and find a few demon souls hoping their effects would prove to be more long lasting. If that failed she had other options, one in particular. She had begun planning this a while ago but had not gone through with it just in case the girl was necessary. Now that there would be no need for her it was time that she reclaimed what was rightfully hers.

However in this state failure was a possibility. Ever since that battle she seemed to be fading.Keeping out of sight and undercover was the immediate solution, but she knew that would not solve everything. She would not continue on such a path for long.

If things went her way, she wouldn't have to do this for too much longer. She would finally have everything returned to her...

* * *

Back with Kouga

All was quite in the forest. Only the small noise of crickets could be heard. But there were intruders on the forest's peace. A soft glow began to appear on the blades of grass underneath the demon. Its position was easily given away in the dark.

"Finally, gotcha!" Kouga yelled triumphantly as he pounded his fist into the soul snatcher. As the demon dissipated, the soul began to hover back toward the cave, back to its rightful owner. Though Kouga had defeated the demon with ease, as expected, something left him worried. Nothing like this had ever happened around here before, although he did hear of something like this happening in some human villages. But what did wolf demons have in common with petty humans?

Unable to find an answer to his own questions, he took a sniff of the air. His eyes shot open when he realized what scent that was.

"Kagome!" Kouga blurted out. Her scent was faint, but it was in the air. It was slightly different though. '_What could've happened to her to make her smell different? Especially that kind of different_?' He asked him self slightly worried, but trying otherwise to convince himself that she was probably perfectly fine. Even he was big enough to realize that dog-breath would protect her. Still, that scent mingling with Kagome's was disturbing. It was more than just the smell of graveyard soil that was making him cautious.

Deciding to find out for himself what the scent was, he took off in the direction where it seemed to becoming from. His thoughts wondered as he ran through the night. He was beginning to rejoice in the fact that he had been awoken from his slumber. He could see his Kagome again! He hadn't seen her since that battle with Naraku, and that didn't really count, considering it was a battle.

He though back to that memory disdainfully. He remembered doing a little bit here and there to help defeat him, but he also remembered that he was blacked out for the end of the fight. He had been critically hit by Kagura while attempting to attack Naraku. It had done him in. The only thing he knew about the end of the fight was that Naraku was supposedly destroyed. What became of his minions, he hadn't a clue. Inu Yasha probably played the hero once again. '_Damn him! It's great that Naraku's gone, but how the hell does he keep getting stronger? One day I'll get to him too...' _He thought angrily. It was more himself that he was upset with. He was made to look weaker than that stupid half-demon right in front of Kagome. At the thought of her name he remembered something. He was the one who claimed her love, so nothing that mutt did mattered, and he missed his self-proclaimed 'mate'.

"Dog-breath better keep his hands off of you," he mumbled into the air while subconsciously speeding up his steps.

* * *

Back with the Gang

"Can we get moving again, it's not like I wanna sit around here all day," Inu Yasha complained while everyone else began to slowly get on their feet from their lunch break.

Miroku offered Sango a hand to help her get up. She just stared at his hand for a moment.

"Miroku," she began, then hesitated.

"What is it Sango?" He asked, his hand still offered to her for help.

"Why do you continue to where the beads over your hand even though your wind tunnel is gone?" She asked quickly, trying to act as though she wasn't nervous.

The monk looked at his hand for a moment, a smile coming to his face. "I guess it's just a habit, besides, it feels strange when it isn't there," Miroku explained before grabbing Sango's hand and pulling her onto her feet, causing her to come a little closer than appropriate to Miroku.

"Thank you," Sango said blushing slightly, looking anywhere but at the monk in front of her. She turned to see how everyone else was doing, when she felt that familiar annoyance.

"Lecherous monk!" She yelled out before slapping him on the side of the face so hard that she left a bright red hand mark on his cheek.

"Will you two hurry up?" Inu Yasha said grumpily.

"Let's get going," Sango said brusquely. Miroku just sighed, looking down at his hand. _You did it again._

Kagome looked over at the rest of the group as she closed her bag. '_Well now Sango's mad, Inu Yasha is still in a hideous mood and here I am stuck in the middle_. _I need to go home for a few days_.' Movement out of the corner of her eye stopped her thoughts. Shippo popped up from behind the rock he was resting against.

"Everyone is so unhappy today," Shippo said, stating the obvious as usual.

"I think everyone is just over tired," Kagome said brightly, trying to keep at least Shippo's moral up. She gave him a sympathetic smile and turned away. '_No sense in having every body in a bad mood. Besides, I'm not in a bad mood, I'm just not in a good mood. Wait! Wouldn't that mean I'm in a bad mood? What am I doing! I'm arguing with my self! I wish...'_

Just then Inu Yasha popped up in front of her.

"You gonna walk on your own, or am I gonna have to carry you?" Inu Yasha asked his voice clearly agitated.

"Huh, why would you have to carry me?" Kagome asked confused. She looked around for some reason why Inu Yasha would be so angry. She saw nothing. That was just the problem, everyone had already started walking! Her argument with herself made her completely oblivious to everything going on around her.

"Come on let's go." Inu Yasha said tersely as he began to walk off in the direction the others must have went.

"I'm going insane..." Kagome mumbled as she jogged off after Inu Yasha.

* * *

Somewhere in the Forest

'_I can feel his presence, he's coming closer. But what do I want? I...Never mind that. His group is with him, probably traveling back to Kaede. Could he have been the one to detour my soul snatcher? Surely not, I saw him escape Naraku with my own eyes. But the scent of my soul snatcher is coming from the same direction that he is...Confrontation cannot be avoided.'_

With that thought she resumed her search. There was no way she could afford to lose a soul snatcher at a time like this. Her body was weakening already. Nothing made sense anymore.

* * *

On the way, on the path

"Sango, you're going to need to repair your hiraikotsu, right?" Kagome asked lightly.

"Yes, but first I want to visit Kaede. I have some things that I have to discuss with her," Sango answered hesitantly.

"So you're gonna leave after we get to Kaede's? We may have defeated Naraku but there are more jewel shards out there," Inu Yasha stated sternly. '_Just because Naraku is gone doesn't mean we're safe yet. The only way we would ever be completely safe is when the jewel was whole and...and what? That could be even worse, every demon would know where to find the shard with all that power in one place. Damn! Things were supposed to get easier once Naraku was gone!'_

"Inu Yasha, I'm going home when we reach Kaede's," Kagome said matter-of-factly.

"What! You know there are still jewel shards that need to be found! We can't just stop now!" Inu Yasha yelled.

"Inu Yasha, we've been through a long battle, I think we should all take a break for a little while."Miroku added.

"Not you too! Fine! One week, that's all you get! We can't afford any more time!"

After his obvious close to the conversation, Inu Yasha marched to the front of the group, his arms folded over his chest.

"Well that went better than expected," Shippo said to Kagome, who put her finger over her lips, signaling him to be quiet.

"I can still hear you Shippo," Inu Yasha said from his position in front. Shippo covered his mouth with both hands and slowed down a bit, just to put some distance between a certain fist and his head.

"Calm down Inu Yasha. You've been pretty irritable lately." Kagome said in Shippo's defense.

"Feh."

"I swear, sometimes he can be so tiring," Kagome mumbled almost inaudibly. Giving a sigh at the end of her words. She closed her eyes for a moment, praying that she wouldn't get a headache.

She could hear a sudden gush of wind, it was familiar and really strong. It was also getting closer. '_I must be out of it...' _Kagome thought as she opened her eyes to find Kouga standing right in front of her.

"Kagome." Kouga said as he grabbed her hands, coming close to her.

"Oh, Kouga! What a surprise!" She said brightly as she smiled. '_Great now Inu Yasha's gonna be even more upset.' _

"What the hell are you doing here?" Inu Yasha growled.

"I came to see my woman, what else?" Kouga answered confidently.

"She is not your woman!" Inu Yasha yelled, very close to losing the remainder of his temper.

"Lighten up mutt-face, I was actually looking for the owner to a demon. I caught one trying to steal one of my allies' souls, but nothing can escape me. I finished it off, then I caught Kagome's scent and decided to drop in." Kouga informed them. "I'm glad you're alright though, you smell normal now. From far away there was something different about your scent." The second part was said only to Kagome and she raised an eyebrow at him. Before she could respond Inu Yasha cut in.

"Good so that means you can leave now?"

"Inu Yasha! He's only visiting, will you calm down!" Kagome said sternly.

"Sorry to interrupt," Inu Yasha said sarcastically glaring at her and Kouga still hand in hand. She noticed where his eyes had traveled too. She wished Kouga wouldn't grab her hands like that, but there really wasn't anything wrong with it.

But still, Inu Yasha knew her better that that. She looked furious now, she had removed her hands from Kouga's and they were now balled up into fists.

"What? You're ridiculous!"

"I'm ridiculous, you're the one cuddling' up with wolf boy!"

"Inu Yasha," Kagome took a breath, "sit boy."

Sure enough he went plunging to the ground headfirst. Kouga just stared at the two, slightly confused. They argued so much, but he just assumed that was to his benefit, he wouldn't have to worry about him and Kagome.

Shippo, Sango and Miroku just shook their heads. This always happened whenever Kouga was around. Some things never changed. Miroku then looked past the two into the forest, hoping that all this would be over soon and they could move onward.

From his spot in the dirt, Kagome could see Inu Yasha's ears perk up for a moment, then he jolted straight up.

"Kikyou..."

It barely even came out as a whisper, but just that one word seemed to express Inu Yasha's feelings, that tone was meant only for Kikyou. Kagome did hear it, and as much as it hurt her, she let her eyes follow his to a spot to the side of the road off in the trees. There stood Kikyou, glaring at them all.

"What are you doing here?" Inu Yasha asked remembering the battle with Naraku and how he had thought she had finally passed on. _She's alive..._

"Which one of you destroyed my soul snatcher?" She asked calmly.

* * *

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	4. Interesting Confrontation

Standard disclaimer applies.

**CHAPTER THREE**

**Interesting Confrontation...**

"Soul Snatcher? You mean an ugly floating snake-thing?" Kouga asked, his face holding a slightly confused expression. He didn't need an answer to his question, the way he mentioned the stupid thing made the priestess, who looked strangely like Kagome, glare at him. Kouga sniffed the air discreetly. A slightly shocked look came to his face, but he quickly wiped it off before anyone could notice. '_Was this what who I caught wind of when I thought I smelled Kagome?_'

That thought caused him to do a double take. His head flicked to Kagome, then back to this other priestess, then back again. Everyone just stared at him, not quite sure what he found so odd.

"Hey uhh could you tell me why you two look..." He sniffed the air, "and smell almost the same?"

Inu Yasha gave a small 'feh' at his question, but didn't take it upon himself to explain anything. Sango and Miroku were just kind of standing there, Shippo at their heals. It wasn't their place to explain. Kagome promptly realized Kouga had never actually met Kikyou. He had no clue what the connection between them was.

"I'm kinda her reincarnation..." Kagome said, figuring it wasn't a good idea to go on about how Kikyou was actually dead and made of nothing but clay and dirt, and how Inu Yasha was hopelessly in love with her. Kouga's face scrunched up slightly in what could only be confusion, but he never gave voice to his thoughts.

"Enough of this."

Everyone turned from the uninformed wolf back to the owner of the frustrated voice. It was not like Kikyou to be short tempered.

"I'm growing impatient, tell me, was it you who destroyed my soul snatcher?" She asked staring directly at Kouga. Kouga began to smirk, remembering just how easy it was to annihilate that annoying thing. '_What the hell does she need something like that for? She's obviously a priestess. And why the hell is Inu Yasha so quiet all of a sudden. Usually you can't shut him up! I'll never figure any of these people out..._'

"Yeah, what of it? That thing was pathetic," he gloated.

'_Bad move,'_ Kagome thought to herself, everyone else's thoughts along the same lines. She wasn't exactly sure why Kikyou was so angry about the soul snatcher, considering she had plenty more, didn't she? She could have just overlooked it and created another. Or maybe her powers were weakening and she wasn't able to sustain herself as well anymore.

Despite her reasons, Kikyou was here, and angry, and that could mean a lot of trouble. '_Why though, is she angry_?' Kagome took on a serious look at the thought, mulling over the reasons that she had already concocted. '_Nothing makes sense! How would Kouga get involved in this even if she was weakening? Kikyou lures away the souls of dead human girls. He only has male wolves in his pack, right?'_

"Kouga, who's soul was the demon trying to take away?" Kagome asked, her tone dead serious. Inu Yasha was completely ignoring everyone's presence at that moment, and was giving his undivided attention to the dead form before him.

A look of confusion crossed the wolf demon's features, both at Kagome's question and at the half demon's attitude change. Dog-breath never took an eye off Kagome when he was around, but now it was like he could care less. He wondered briefly how Inu Yasha was connected to this puzzle, because he knew, somehow, the stupid half-breed was connected, he always was. His thoughts were interrupted by a slight "ahem," by Kagome, a reminder of her question. He squelched his thoughts about Inu Yasha. Right now he had bigger problems. He wasn't exactly ready to tell Kagome who was staying with his pack, it could damage their 'budding' relationship. He looked down at the green grass of the field, searching for an answer, and began to get a headache when he couldn't seem to find one.

"Does it make a difference? It was in my lands, I killed it." Kouga said as nonchalantly as possible, making it clear that he was dismissing the question like it was of no importance.

* * *

Miroku read the brief panic on the wolf's face, and easily realized what it was that he was holding back. Obviously Kouga had a female with his pack, and he could take a few guesses at who it was.

"About time..." Miroku mumbled, but didn't realize he had done so.

"What's that?" Sango asked, hearing him say something, but not quite sure what he said. Shippo looked up, but said nothing, hoping Miroku would tell them both whatever he was thinking.

Miroku's features took on a look of contemplation, his brow furrowed slightly.

"What is it Miroku?" Sango asked, knowing that he saw something that she did not. He did not speak immediately.

"Kouga," he paused, putting his thoughts into words, "he was probably harboring Ayame with his pack."

"Well it's about time," Sango replied, slightly let down by Miroku's statement of what was almost obvious. Shippo felt like he was about to fall over, and he had them worried...

"That's not what's bothering me," Miroku said as he turned to completely face Sango. This startled Sango, her eyes showed it clearly as they grew in size. Shippo's ears perked up.

"If Kouga intercepted one of Kikyou's demons that attacked Ayame, that must mean Kikyou can now take away a demon's soul, or at least she is trying to."

Sango stared at the monk for a moment, digesting everything he just said. He still looked deep in thought.

"We should be on our guard, just in case something happens" she said in a somber tone. Shippo looked over to where Kagome and Kouga were standing; he had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

Kouga still hadn't answered her question to the point where she could obtain the information that she needed and this period of inaction was beginning to grate on Kagome's nerves. Kikyou was quite obviously not going to be patient, and Kagome always felt slightly anxious when Kikyou was around. The usually calm priestess began to raise her bow in anger, but she still said nothing.

Normally a threat to the group would automatically spring Inu Yasha into action, but not this time. He barely even moved from his spot, his muscles just slightly tensed, his eyes hardening.

'_Crap! What am I supposed to do now! She's not aiming at any one in my group, it's just Kouga, and I hate Kouga, there's no reason for me to but in. He may have helped us... but so did Kikyou... and Kikyou... '_ Inu Yasha made his decision, he wouldn't interfere, obviously Kouga brought this upon himself.

Miroku and Sango just stood in indecision to the happenings, not quite sure how they should react. Whether Kikyou was friend or foe wasn't all that important right now, this really wasn't there business. It was between Kouga and Kikyou.

Kouga seemed not to notice the actions of the dead priestess and just continued to look at Kagome, hoping that she would let him off the hook. His hopes were crushed as she opened her mouth to speak once again, probably to reinforce her question.

* * *

'_If I get rid of that wolf, I'll have gotten revenge for my soul snatcher, but more importantly it will serve as the perfect distraction. What luck running into that girl here.' _Kikyou slowly began to raise the arrow to her bow while she formulated a plan. '_It's the only way', Kikyou_ raised an arrow from the pack on her back, aligning it with Kouga, but just slightly off.

A slight wind tousled Kagome's hair, but more importantly brought the strange change in scent to Kouga. Kouga turned his head away from Kagome, who was about to speak. Realization struck hard and fast. There was no time for thoughts as he scooped Kagome up in his arms. A faint purple light whizzed by his head, narrowly missing both him and Kagome. It landed in a tree on the other side of the opening, embedding itself deep into its bark. As Kouga landed from his quick movement he set Kagome down.

"What the hell is wrong with your friend!" He asked angrily while making sure that the arrow had not hit her either. Kagome just looked at him, not exactly sure what she should say. After all, Kikyou wasn't exactly _her _friend. Kouga watched the look on Kagome's face fade to sadness, and he assumed then that this priestess person was not an ally to them, at least not to all of them. He backed away from Kagome, saying a brief, "don't worry, I'll take care of it. I've gotta protect you." He turned to face the threat upon him and his 'mate'. No one was allowed to hurt Kagome, and he'd be sure that this priestess never would.

* * *

Sango was ready to pounce as that arrow sped through the air. She had jumped from her resting position on a rock but a steady hand held her back.

"We shouldn't interfere."

"You're kidding me, that arrow almost struck Kagome!" Sango yelled at the monk, who currently had a very tight hold on her forearm. The contact was making her skin tingle slightly, but she pushed that feeling aside.

"This is Kouga's doing, besides, who knows how Inu Yasha would react were we to intervene and so much as touch Kikyou. We all know how he feels towards her," he said, not relinquishing his hold on the demon slayer's forearm. Sango just scowled at him. She understood the undead priestess' sadness, but that still gave no reason to let her hurt Kagome. She also knew of Inu Yasha's feelings towards the priestess, but she was sure he also possessed those feelings for Kagome, or at least some of them.

"What if she hurts Kagome!" Shippo chimed in worriedly.

Miroku's reply was even, and straight to the point. "Should that happen, we'll wait for Inu Yasha to take action, if he fails in doing so, then we would have no other choice." Miroku felt the muscles of the girl's forearm ease some. His grip finally loosened on Sango's arm, and she slowly drew it away.

"We'll do it your way, but if she so much as scratches Kagome, I'm not hesitating."

"Yeah, Kikyou's mean," Shippo added.

Miroku gave a firm nod, accepting everything they said.

* * *

Inu Yasha was stunned when he watched Kikyou release her arrow. That arrow had just barely missed not only Kouga, but Kagome as well. His heart began to raise, he was about to jump towards Kagome when he realized that Kouga had already removed her from danger's path. When his brief worry subsided his reasoning kicked into action. He quickly acknowledged that it was somehow Kouga's fault that Kagome was nearly hit. He looked over to where Kouga had just set down an unharmed Kagome, feeling a pang of jealousy that he had not been the one to grab her and bring her to safety, but he kept his mouth shut. Kikyou was here. Times like this always confused him. He had loved Kikyou, and there in was his problem. What was there he could do?

He had to do something though. No matter how much he cared for Kikyou, he couldn't let her hurt Kagome, Shippo, Sango, or Miroku, even if it was an accident.

He took a step toward Kikyou. "What are you planning to do here?" He asked, the anger he had tried to push into his voice not showing nearly as much as he had hoped.

Kikyou glanced Inu Yasha's way with cold eyes. _'If only you knew'_ she thought, and once again raised her bow, not yet fixing it with an arrow but turning herself to face Kouga and Kagome.

"I won't allow you to hurt them." Inu Yasha's voice was firm, drawing Kikyou's attention back to him.

Kouga saw Kikyou's distraction as an opportunity and lunged toward her with all his speed, landing right next to her. Kikyou saw the sudden movement out of the corner of her eye and turned back to face where Kouga had landed. But it was too late, she was quite obviously caught off guard. Kouga lifted his leg, which emanated power from his jewel shard and swung a powerful kick at Kikyou.

He underestimated her abilities though, and was moving slower than usual, assuming there was nothing she could possibly do to stop him. She quickly lowered her bow, causing her powers to flow into it and deflect the demon's kick from making contact. Kouga looked stunned at what he had just seen. He had attacked at point blank range and there was no way for her to escape, and she... completely thwarted his attack with a single move.

"What the hell do you think you're doing wolf boy!" Inu Yasha yelled as he ran towards where Kouga and Kikyou were standing. He was enraged at the thought that Kouga had just dared to try and hurt Kikyou. He didn't even notice when Kikyou retreated back a bit. Inu Yasha landed close to where Kouga was standing, a deadly expression on his face.

"Whatda ya mean, what am I doing? She shot at me and Kagome, what the hell do you think I'm doin'?" Kouga retorted as he bent down in a position, ready to attack.

'_Shot at Kouga and Kagome?' _Inu Yasha thought. No, he wouldn't let his mind accept that, Kouga was the one who caused the arrow to be so close to Kagome. He gave voice to his thoughts as soon as possible.

"The only reason that arrow was any where near Kagome was because you were near her, you idiot!" Inu Yasha said as he looked over to Kikyou. She was simply standing there, watching them both, no emotion in her eyes.

* * *

Kagome watched from a distance as Kikyou averted Kouga's attack with ease. Kouga had set her down on the other side of the clearing but, she could still plainly see and hear most of what was going on. She could already tell this was going to be one of those horrible battles that she had hoped they would be able to avoid. Inu Yasha would never let anyone harm Kikyou.

Not long after Kouga's kick, Inu Yasha appeared next to him, already blazing with anger. Kouga and Inu Yasha began to argue. _'This could get really ugly really fast,' _she thought sadly. Listening closely, she heard Kouga say that Kikyou had shot at both him and her. She watched the half demon's face fill with astonishment at the statement, only to be washed away by anger the next moment.

Kagome thought about the shot. Kikyou was a perfect marksman, but that didn't account for Kouga's speed. If Kikyou had aimed for where Kouga had been standing, which was a short distance from her at that time, then the arrow would have missed both her and Kouga by a mile. But she hadn't. That arrow was close. '_Kikyou could have tried to predict Kouga's movements and shot towards me..._' Kagome told herself, though she was still questioning that theory. Kikyou had tried to kill her before, was it that unbelievable that she would try to again? _'After all, If I die, she can take the rest of my soul and be with Inu Yasha._'

Kouga and Inu Yasha were still arguing.

"The only reason that arrow was any where near Kagome was because you were near her, you idiot!" she heard Inu Yasha yell once again. He was always defending Kikyou, no matter the odds. She began to wonder what Inu Yasha would have done if that arrow had actually hit her. Her heart lurched painfully as the answer came to her. _Nothing... _

* * *

'_That's right Inu Yasha,' _Kikyou thought as she pieced together more of a plan in her mind. _'Keep on defending me, you must give me more time_.' She knew her bow had taken a brutal blow when she had used it to ward off that wolf demon's attack, but she would still be able to fire two arrows from it before it broke. That would normally be enough to down most of her foes without a problem, but this time would be different, she wouldn't be able to shoot at her target without distracting a few people. Sure, she was good, but was she that good? It would be an easy task if her bow were not in its current condition. _Could she succeed with just two arrows at her disposal?_

_

* * *

_Please Read and Review!


	5. Feuding

Standard disclaimer applies.

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**Feuds**

The air became stiff with silence, an undertow of tension threatening to overtake everyone. Muscles were taught, nerves strung to their breaking points, it was only a matter of time. '_I can't do anything with every one vigilant_,' she thought. The impassive look on her face did not give anything away, her plans well hidden under countless barriers.

Kikyou turned her head to make direct eye contact with Inu Yasha, letting her eyes soften slightly, into an almost affectionate look, but the grim set of her jaw remained. Inu Yasha ceased his argument with Kouga, baffling the wolf. He stood to face her, unable to take his gaze from hers. The entire group seemed to realize this, especially Kagome, who turned her head away from the scene and lowered her head, her bangs hiding her eyes.

Slowly Kikyou approached the half demon, her guard appearing to be completely down. A light breeze caused the grass to sway in its wake and Kikyou's hair to fly up for a moment, causing it to fall slightly into her face for a moment until another kiss of the wind returned it to its place on her back. She let her gaze fall to the ground as she kept walking towards that half-demon. Memories of Kikyou began singing in Inu Yasha's mind from just that small movement of her hair. She was beautiful and had been the first person he thought he could truly trust... He put his thoughts to rest to keep his full attention on her. Her behavior was strange, he had noticed it, but for some reason his mind was still not registering it.

She was just a short distance from him, she knew it, she could feel his presence, and she never actually had to see him to know he was close. She also noticed how he had just stiffened slightly. Keeping her head down, Kikyou made sure they had no eye contact yet.

"Inu Yasha," she said softly, as she appeared to study the ground at her feet. He took a step toward her, but didn't continue, unsure of what to do and what her purpose with him was.

Again Kikyou spoke, "You made me a promise, and you fulfilled part of it..."

Inu Yasha's eyes widened slightly, but he quickly regained his control, he was definitely going to need it.

"Hnn..." was Inu Yasha's only reply. There weren't many times when you could hear emotion in Inu Yasha's voice, but Kikyou knew him well. She let him think for a moment.

What was he supposed to say? Sure, he got revenge for her death and had defeated Naraku, he had promised her that, but he had also said he would join her in hell. How could he do that with the Shikon jewel still incomplete?

Kikyou had heard the hesitation in his voice with just his small mumble and knew this was her time to act. She had given him enough time to think.

"Inu Yasha, do you still wish to be with me?" She asked, her shoulders slumped forward slightly making her body take on a look of defeat, a look of the living.

Kouga gave a completely astonished look at the priestess's words. He always thought mutt-face had the hots for Kagome. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Inu Yasha was a man whore?

"Kikyou..." Inu Yasha began, trying to piece together something to say but failed miserably.

"Answer me." Kikyou demanded.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kagome was once again focusing her attention on Inu Yasha. Her eyes told the story of her thoughts, there was no need for words. Kikyou was surely going to ask Inu Yasha to join her in hell again. '_No.._.' She thought grimly. Though she was unable to actually hear them speaking, she knew the general direction that this conversation was going. Her stomach was threatening to explode, her sickness caused by worry and stress from all of her emotions. Her hands were clasped tightly together. Her senses were heightened due to her emotional distress. She was trying desperately to hear what was being said and not too at the same time.

She didn't want Inu Yasha to die. If she could she would take all his pain just to see him happy for the rest of his life. But she knew this was impossible. Inu Yasha felt that he was as close to worthless as there was. If there was one thing she wanted him to realize, it was that he did have a meaning in his life and he was important. Even if it meant never being with him, she didn't want Inu Yasha to leave the living. It wasn't his time. By now tears were welling in her eyes as she thought of what Inu Yasha would say to Kikyou. How could he tell the woman he loved no? Sure, she knew that she did mean something to Inu Yasha, but she always questioned the depths of that something. He cared, that's what counted. How deeply was always the question. She realized now that maybe her hopes were in vain, that there was nothing between them to begin with.

Her tears were so close to spilling over her lids, but she didn't want to give in. Kikyou didn't cry, so why should she? Strength was her only hope, that and her mind kept telling herself not to cry over and over as she continued to look on.

* * *

Moments ticked by as Inu Yasha contemplated what he could say to the undead priestess.

"I...I can't" Inu Yasha practically whispered.

Kikyou raised her head, her eyes held an immense amount of loneliness topped with a deep melancholy. Sadness beyond what words could describe. Inu Yasha noticed this and felt his heart twist painfully. He hated to hurt her like this, but there were too many other things for him to complete here in this world.

"Has that girl taken your heart from me?" She asked as she stared into his eyes. '_It's working' _she thought.

"Will I be your forgotten love Inu Yasha?" Kikyou whispered. '_You will never forget me.'_

Inu Yasha stepped toward her, it hurt him see her like this, even if she was just a shadow of the woman he once loved.

"Kikyou...I could never forget you...I just...can't." His voice faltered with his last words, an unclear meaning behind them. His eyes were once again diverted to the ground, the grass springing from the dirt becoming very interesting. What the hell was he gonna do to get himself out of this situation?

"Do you want to be with me, Inu Yasha?" Kikyou asked once again. She didn't give time for an answer as she posed another question.

"Or is your decision swayed because I am not of the living?"

"Kikyou..."

* * *

Sango and Miroku kept vigil, but still remained inactive. Once in a while their eyes would rove to Kagome who stood to their right, a fair distance from them. They could feel her pain, especially Sango. The feeling of loosing someone right in front of you was the worst thing in the world to have to suffer through. It was easy to see how much Kagome cared for Inu Yasha, easy to see for everyone except Inu Yasha. Sango took on a look of anger as she continued to watch Inu Yasha speak with Kikyou, but Miroku seemed to be unaffected. They could just barely hear the voices of Inu Yasha and Kikyou. Shippo didn't quite understand what was happening, but he knew it wasn't good considering neither Sango nor Miroku had spoken in quite some time. The ongoing silence was annoying him, but he forced himself to remain calm, quiet, and mature.

* * *

"You chose a girl who serves as a shard detector with incompetent abilities over me? Inu Yasha, she is nothing compared to me, and without you, she would be long gone." Kikyou said as if she were stating the local weather. Her voice never got insulting, it remained as if she was reciting pure, unarguable fact. She didn't expect a certain someone to but in.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're saying? I don't care who you are, you can't insult my Kagome like that!"

* * *

Kagome had no clue what Kouga had just said, but it obviously stirred things up a bit. It was probably something in her defense, judging by the look on Kikyou's face. She had stopped actually listening to the conversation and was just watching the happenings. It was good to know that at least someone would stand up for her, considering she wasn't doing it for herself. There wasn't much she would be able to do in this situation anyway, there was just no use.

She managed to wipe what would have been tears from her eyes as she looked at Kouga. He appeared to be absolutely livid. This saddened Kagome slightly, she did not love Kouga, and she never would. But she did hold him dear as a good friend. There wasn't much that Kouga wasn't willing to do for her. She switched her gaze to the silver haired adolescent beside Kouga. Inu Yasha looked slightly relieved, almost like he was grateful to Kouga for once, but it was not something he let show for very long. '_Great, now hell will definitely freeze over,_' Kagome thought, then slapped herself mentally for being sarcastic at a time like this. Inu Yasha did have a brain, and she was one of his friends, he wouldn't just let Kikyou insult her...hopefully.

* * *

Kouga's comment had shaken Kikyou slightly. But, after a moment, she smiled her wry smile.

"You do not agree I see, is that because you have made a claim on the girl?" She paused to measure his reaction. She knew she was right on the money by the red blush that had crept its way onto his face.

"Just because you have claimed a person does not mean you can wipe away their faults," Kikyou said emotionlessly. She knew she struck a nerve with this one. She saw a vein twitch on his temple.

"You're not half the person Kagome is, I don't care what the relationship between her and you is!" Kouga spat heatedly. This was not going well, if this kept up, a certain priestess was gonna be lunch for a few of his friends.

Kikyou smiled.

"You shouldn't speak, it makes you look like a fool."

Inu Yasha snapped to attention at Kikyou's words, immediately grabbing Kouga who was already in position to lunge at her. He couldn't let that happen, even if Kikyou was clearly pushing her luck. Kouga would not lay a finger on her.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Kouga screamed as he fell backwards due to a grip on his very delicate tail.

"You won't touch her." Inu Yasha said sternly.

"That's it mutt face! I'm gonna end this here! What the hell is your problem! Usually you're protecting Kagome, you're just going to let some wench slander her name? What the hell! Are you in love with the look alike here!" Kouga said as he brought his leg around in an attempt to knock Inu Yasha off of his feet.

"I would never allow someone to ruin Kagome's name!" Inu Yasha growled back as he jumped backwards, evading Kouga's jewel imbedded leg. He flung his fist at Kouga's head.

"Coulda fooled me!" Kouga yelled back at him as he moved his head just enough to cause Inu Yasha's onslaught to miss its target. Quickly he brought on his own attack, and landed a punch squarely upon Inu Yasha's jaw.

Inu Yasha stumbled backwards from the blow.

"Fooling you isn't that hard now is it?" Inu Yasha grinded out before jumping at Kouga.

"Who are you to talk!" Kouga replied as he jumped toward Inu Yasha.

"STUPID HALF BREED!"

"ARROGANT MUTT!"

* * *

They both screamed out as they met in the air with an exchange of fists and attacks.

Sango looked panicked. "Miroku! What should we do?" She asked as she stared at Kouga and Inu Yasha going at it for real.

"We can't do anything about it." Miroku said softly.

"What! You're just gonna sit here and let them kill each other?" Shippo yelled. Was he the only one seeing this from a clear view?

"Miroku we've got to do something!" Sango said, agreeing with what Shippo was implying.

"What are we supposed to do?" Miroku asked, his voice now angry, but not at them. It was more like an anger directed at himself for not being able to do anything.

"If we aid Inu Yasha, we would end up slaying Kouga, if we went to Kouga, we would be fighting against Inu Yasha, tell me do you want to do either of those?" He asked sourly.

"No, but can't we break them apart? They shouldn't be fighting in the first place!" Sango said, her voice distraught. Being unsure of her actions was never something that she enjoyed.

"There's no way we'd be able to break them apart. They've waited way too long for this." Miroku stated as he watched Inu Yasha draw his sword against Kouga.

"We could get caught up in the fight and become injured or worse." He paused, positive that he had gotten his point across to them.

"Kagome could break them apart!" Shippo said joyously as he glanced over to his raven-haired friend who was still a good distance from them.

Sango shook her head slightly. "She may be able to, but she could also endanger herself as well. Besides, she seems to be dealing with her own thoughts at the moment."

"So we have no choice by to sit here and watch?" Shippo asked, his voice shaky.

Miroku only nodded.

* * *

'_They are fighting seriously!' _Kagome watched in horror as Inu Yasha drew the Tetsaiga. Kouga didn't stand a chance against Inu Yasha and his sword! Granted she had faith in Kouga, but come on! He would surely be killed if he faced Inu Yasha! And if Inu Yasha did actually kill Kouga she knew that he would never live it down. Deep down, Inu Yasha didn't truly hate Kouga, he was just always frustrated with him.

Now Kagome really wanted to cry, but she knew there was no time for tears. There had to be something she could do.

'_I have to stop this. I want it all to stop...' _she thought desperately. She knew she could sit Inu Yasha, but then Kouga would be free to pummel him, so she knew that wouldn't work. Besides, Inu Yasha would be furious with her. '_There has to be something... Why the hell can't I think of it then!_' Talking to them would have no effect, neither of them would be willing to listen. They were male after all. Her mind kept telling her to stay away, but her heart was pushing her to go to them. She took the bow down off her back and withdrew an arrow. She wasn't planning on doing anything with them yet, but she felt safer having them draw. _What am I supposed to do?_

* * *

Kikyou looked on at the two demons. It was obvious they were engrossed in their fight and insult throwing. Both of them collided with force right in front of her. She could practically feel the rage emanating from their swings. When Inu Yasha drew his sword she knew things had gotten serious. She hadn't expected her words to cause this level of battle between them. '_They must have held a grudge from before this meeting. I doubt that they would be fighting this hard if they didn't. That's of no matter now, it only aids me._'

She backed away from the brawl, not wanting to get herself entangled with them in any way. She had things to do after all. '_Now..._' She thought, as she checked over her surroundings one last time. The forest could provide for an easy getaway if necessary, but she was hoping it would not be. She always had to have a plan B, better safe than sorry. She retrieved her bow, which she had discreetly dropped earlier just a small distance from where she had talked with Inu Yasha. Setting an arrow upon the string, a sigh of satisfaction came from her lips. '_I can end it all right now with an arrow to spare._'

* * *

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	6. Arrow of Hatred

Standard disclaimer applies.

**CHAPTER FIVE**

**Arrow of Hatred**

This was it. Everything would end here, success or failure, it made no difference, the only thing that would change would be the results. She knew what the path she had chosen would entail and though some undesirables would emerge, they paled in comparison to her benefits. For a moment she wondered when she had decided to that killing her was the only way, but she stopped when pain exploded throughout her mind. Her headache seemed to be growing every second. It was starting to feel like someone was hitting her with a hammer. But she wouldn't let that distract her.

Losing her life once was enough. Then she had been replaced, and now had become a spiteful woman looking for a future that was already out of her reach and in the grasp of another. For some reason her head began to ache even more. All of her hate, except for Naraku, was collected conveniently right there in front of her, in a simple schoolgirl just waiting for her final blow. "She is such a fool to think she can defeat me, she deserves everything she gets_." _'_The same school girl who has done nothing but help you_. STOP!' A voice inside her tried to cry out, to free itself, but its effects were thwarted instantly.

This was a battle she was determined to win. And right now, the upper hand was hers, but it wasn't like it was needed. All the cards had been played perfectly. "I have always been more powerful than all of you" '_Get it over with now._'

* * *

Miroku was watching the fierce battle between Inu Yasha and Kouga looking for some way to stop the two without injuring either, or at the very least injuring them both equally. He wasn't having any such luck, there was nothing he could do to stop them under such conditions. At best they might be able to get Kagome to sit Inu Yasha, but that wouldn't really solve all that much on Kouga's end. Knowing Kouga, he would use the sit tactic as an advantage and try to pummel Inu Yasha even further into the ground. _'Damn Kikyou, why did she have to start this_. _There's now way she could have known about how much the two hate each other. Did she have some other purpose in coming here?_'

At that moment he realized Kikyou had strayed from the battle.

* * *

It was quite obvious by now that neither one was really looking to get this over with any time soon. Both had awaited this moment for quite sometime, and even though both cared for Kagome and she wouldn't want this, they weren't exactly looking for a way out of the fight. There was nothing that could be done. '_This must be so hard for Kagome...' _Sango thought, glancing at her friend who was glued to the battle scene. '_None of this is even necessary. Are all men this pig headed?_' Sango sighed.

Watching this battle was making her anxious, her grip on her weapon tightening every moment.

"Miroku, any luck?" Sango asked, hoping for the best and expecting the worst.

"Not at all. Those two would never give up an opportunity like this, especially when Kagome isn't interfering. I'm more concerned with something else" Miroku replied his eyes roaming the opening, scanning tree by tree, blade by blade.

Sango heard the slight tension in his voice and turned toward him. "What exactly are you looking for Miroku?"

He didn't bring his eyes to meet hers, just simply asked, "Where is Kikyou?"

"I...I don't" Sango began but was cut off.

Shippo was the one to actually form a response to Miroku's query.

"She's right over there, looks like she just wanted to get away from the fight that _she_ started." He said. '_Women are so weird_' he thought, as he pointed toward the undead woman.

Sango gave a sigh of relief and returned to watching Kouga and Inu Yasha.

"I guess we'll just have to sew them back together when they're done." '_If they both make it out of here in large enough pieces...This is truly ridiculous._' Humor was the only way she was going to survive right now.

"We always get stuck with the dirty work," Shippo added disdainfully while scrunching his nose. Blood was not something he enjoyed dealing with, though he had seen a lot of it in his few short years. Speaking of years, his thoughts returned to his adopted mother.

He glanced over to Kagome for a moment, noting how it looked like she was arguing with herself, not out loud of course, but her brow was scrunched, which mean she was thinking very seriously. '_Poor Kagome, she's always stuck in the middle because of that stupid Inu Yasha. How could Inu Yasha even think of Kikyou when he has Kagome right under his nose...' _There was nothing he could do for them at this place in time.

After he finished his musings he turned his head back to look at Sango and Miroku, who were each still making little comments while watching the battle. '_Those two are almost as bad as Kagome and Inu Yasha, and they don't even know it. Jeez, I'm just a kid and I already know more than them. What would they do without me. Oh well, I just hope everyone gets outta this in one piece..._'

"We seem to have gotten pretty good at forcing Inu Yasha to recover," Sango stated, trying to keep a conversation going to soothe their nerves, and keep some humor in this dark situation. "But sometimes I wish he wouldn't always push himself so far..." Her voice trailed off. There wasn't much more to be said.

Out of a spur of the moment feeling, Sango turned to see what Kikyou was up to.

As soon as her eyes came to the priestess she was yelling at the top of her lungs as she began running toward Kagome. This couldn't be happening.

* * *

Kagome began to approach the two fighting demons. Enough was enough, even if it came down to sitting Inu Yasha, she would have to break this up. Sitting Inu Yasha in front of Kouga always seemed to be the worst type of punishment for him. He was never very forgiving about it no matter what the circumstances were. She cringed at the thought of the enraged half-demon and all the words that she knew were going to fly from his mouth. Probably even a few he hadn't called her yet. These thoughts made her doubt her decision more and more.

'_No_' She thought. There was no way she was gonna allow this. She was just going to have to endure Inu Yasha's ridiculous insults and accusations. Even in front of Kikyou. Surely Kikyou would enjoy this display of stupidity, she'd probably enjoy it even more when she made a complete fool of herself by arguing back to try and get him to stop. Inu Yasha never listened to her, even when she was right. She wasn't even sure why she was going to bother to try to talk to him civilly before just sitting him. But she was going to none the less. Sit was only a last resort, she reminded herself. She had to at least give him a fair chance, maybe he would save himself.

Pushing her thoughts aside, Kagome quickened her pace toward the two. '_Enough is enough. Just get it over with, you'll live through it._' Subconsiously she fixed the arrow to her bow but still kept it down. It was a reflex in entering hostile situations, she couldn't help it.

Her firm resolve and the blood pounding in her ears made her move faster. She barely even heard the frantic warning calls of her friend.

* * *

Kikyou released the arrow as soon as she heard the demon slayer's warning. The bow snapped sending it flying directly towards Kagome. There was no escaping the deadly blow, her aim was perfect, it always had been. Looking to her left she saw that the wolf demon had noticed her earlier action, right before she had released the arrow. Noticing that in the instant when she had fired the arrow Kagome had raised her own bow just slightly she cursed. Inu Yasha had looked over at her outburst to see her raising her bow. His eyes widened and before he could move she had finished her job, the second arrow following its predecessor.

The half demon immediately turned away from her, sprinting in the other direction. Perfect. She decided it would be best to flee now.

All she would have to do is escape. After that she would just have to locate Kagome before her soul passed on. That would be the easy part. Then Kagome's soul, her soul, would be back where it belonged. This truly was the end of her long, long wait, her suffering seemed to be coming to and end at last. She just couldn't understand why she had this throbbing headache.

* * *

Sango's words alerted Inu Yasha to Kagome. There didn't seem to be anything wrong. He looked back to Kouga whom had stopped fighting him. He was running towards where Kikyou was standing. He heard her mutter something and spared a glance toward her. Looking over, he noticed a bright purple light slice through the air at a break-neck speed. His pupils became dilated. _'No.' Was_ his only thought before he found himself on his feet, pushing himself as fast as he could towards Kagome. Briefly, he thought of somehow jumping into the path of the arrow, but realized quickly that it would be of no use, he was already too far behind it. There was nothing he could do to save her. _'I'm uselss! Not again! This can't be happening again!'_

There was a blinding light already surrounding Kagome that faded as Kikyou's arrow cut the air. Right before his eyes he watched as the arrow pierced the flesh of Kagome's chest, very close to her heart.

He'd realized too late.

It was too late.

He was too late.

* * *

Sango's yells had gone unheard. When Kagome finally realized what was happening, there was nothing she could do to change it. The purple light was right on top of her. She watched the arrow, and shut her eyes tight as she prepared for the worst. Strangely it did not come immediately. Upon opening her eyes she watched as the arrow was reflected by her own bow and arrow, her aura. The force knocked the two from her hands. Just as a feeling of relief washed over her she felt the second arrow's tip rip through her blouse and skin. She briefly wondered why any of this was necessary. Again, nothing made sense to her. '_Why did Kikyou have to shoot me? Kill me? It's not like she needed me gone to get to Inu Yasha. She had him, I wasn't even in the way. Inu Yasha...he didn't...he didn't even try to save me..._'

That was the last coherent thought that passed through Kagome's mind before she began to fall backwards from the force of the arrow that was now thoroughly imbedded within her. She was barely clinging to consciousness.

Before she hit the ground something stopped her. A pair of gentle arms now held her limp body. A body filled with pain. Now she could also feel a wetness dampening her shirt, causing it to stick to her body. _My own blood..._' she thought, not really caring at the moment. It was strange, to not even care that she was bleeding and what that could mean. But there was only one thing occupying her mind right then. Pain.

The pain was starting to really drill itself through her being. Her eyes were still squeezed shut. She had been trying with no avail to drown out the throbbing in her chest at that moment. However, she was now realizing it was no use. The pain felt as though it would eat her alive. She could hear a voice calling to her, it sounded so worried. Wait...there was more than just one. At least it sounded like more than one.

She decided it didn't matter right now, she just wanted the agony to end. All of it. Her body was calling her to slumber, and there wasn't any reason to refuse. Sleep sounded like the best thing in the world, and she embraced it with open arms and a broken heart.

* * *

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	7. The Song of Remorse

Standard disclaimer applies.

**CHAPTER SIX**

**The Song of Remorse**

Fleeing was a simple task with everyone rushing towards that foolish schoolgirl. As soon as the arrow had hit the girl, she was on the move. Slipping away couldn't be easier. Quickly and swiftly her feet pounded the mossy undergrowth of the forest floor. Not once did she look back. Many times she had been tempted, but something inside her kept those wants at bay. Her eyes were glued in front of her, on some unknown destination. She dodged oncoming tree branches with ease, her grace a mystery to behold. After fleeing what must have been two miles further into the forest, she stopped. She could no longer sense Inu Yasha's presence, she couldn't feel any demons presence for that matter.

She took a deep breath and thought '_safety'_. Looking around, it was immediately obvious to her where she was. The gently rhythm of the stream flowed into her ears, bringing in nature's sweet melodies along with memories of times long gone. Her stern expression seemed to soften with the memories brimmed on the edge of her mind.

This place was where she had had her first true conversation with the infamous Inu Yasha. She closed her eyes, willing the memories to replay in her mind and trying to avoid an ensuing headache. But for some odd reason the memories would not play, her head began to pound instead. A searing pain seemed to radiate from her temples straight into her brain. Kikyou clamped her eyes shut more tightly and grabbed her head, cradling it in both hands. She let out a soft grunt as the pain began to increase. It felt as though someone was inside her head hammering away at her temples with a sledgehammer. "Stop..." She whispered out as she crouched down to the grass, her head still in her hands. This was unbearable. "Please..." She was now clutching her head in agony.

All at once everything seemed to stop. The priestess' body became as still as a stone. A breeze came by, ruffling her hair and causing it to fall in her face. Usually she would immediately replace her stray strands, but she still remained motionless. It was truly an odd sight.

Her soul collectors began to approach her body, loyally and protectively forming a circle around their master. The strange light emitted by the demons cast an eerie glow over Kikyou's face. She was pale, it was a sickly look for even her, maybe even a look of one near death. She still had not moved.

However, the inaction of her physical body was no testament as to what was going on within. A battle was raging, its ferocity growing every second. The silence surrounding the priestess was broken by a soft whimper. Her eyes shot open only to droop closed again as she collapsed and lay sprawled on the ground, lying limp beside the stream of memories.

* * *

"Lady Kaede, how is she doing?"

Everyone was huddled outside of a small hut, everyone except Inu Yasha that is.

Kaede, who had just emerged from the hut herself, paused in an effort to gather her thoughts into a reassuring answer, though this situation was anything but. No matter what, she knew she could not ignore the monk's question much longer.

"My sister is a very powerful priestess..." She began, not exactly knowing how to break this news to a group of friends who cared so much about Kagome's well being. She watched as Shippo's eyes began to cloud over for what had to be the hundredth time since the 'incident' occurred.

"Kaede...Kagome... Kagome will live, won't she?" Sango squeaked, clearly trying to hold back her own tears. Kagome was like a sister to her, part of the only family she had left. Miroku came up behind Sango and placed a hand on her shoulder. He was having trouble with this predicament as well, but he knew that right now someone had to be strong, and unfortunately enough for him, he was the chosen candidate.

"I cannot be sure..." Kaede replied solemnly, unable to look any of them in the eyes as she relayed the worst part of her news.

"However, Kagome is an unusual girl, as ye know. She has the powers of a priestess within her." Kaede said after quite an awkward moment of silence. This thought had given her hope and she was desperately praying that it would do the same for the rest of the group.

"Lady Kaede, does that mean that because of Kagome's powers that the sacred arrow that Kikyou sent at her may not take full effect?" Miroku asked, realizing what Kaede seemed to be getting at.

"Of that I am not sure. I have never heard of one priestess striking another down in a case such as this." Kaede stopped for a bit, trying to reorganize her own thoughts.

"So she still has a chance..."Sango said as she hugged the sobbing Shippo closer to her body. She had only let a few tears fall from her eyes, her weakness would not solve anything.

"Kagome is my elder sister's reincarnation, an arrow from the same soul probably won't have the effect it normally would on others." Kaede took a breath and continued. "The fact that she's alive is proof that something strange occurred within the arrow." Again Kaede stopped, but this time she had no intention of continuing. She let her own thoughts roam. She couldn't understand why her own sister would go to such an extreme. Quickly she reminded herself that the Kikyou of the present was not the Kikyou of her memories. With that she just turned to look at the sky. '_I pray to thee to help Kagome make it through this_.'

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the hut was a different story. There was quite a feeling of anxiety that mingled in the air along with the scent of medicinal herbs, and, to those whose nose was keen enough to sniff it, blood, the blood of an innocent girl in a time that was not her own.

Her chest now lay in bandages, a small stain beginning to appear where the wound was still gushing forth her blood. Her head lay propped up by a small pillow, while her body was swathed in blankets on a cushion in the center of the floor. On one side of the cushion lay the many herbs that were used to treat her wounds, while the other side was occupied in a different sense of the word.

Beside the makeshift bed was what seemed to be a fixed statue at the moment. His red haori hung from his folded arms as he sat in his all to familiar cross-legged position, poised next to what could be a deathbed. His eyes were unmoving and unwavering. They were set on the face of the fallen Kagome. It looked as if he was waiting for her to move at any moment, to show some sign that she would be all right, that she would pull through. But his expression had been that way since they had arrived at Kaede's, exactly four hours and twenty four minutes ago. Though Inu Yasha was motionless his mind was racing, as it had been for the better part of the day now.

'_Why...Why would Kikyou do this_?' That had been one of the more persistent thoughts of the day. The other was that of guilt. '_I should have stopped this from happening. I could have saved her... She was depending on me and I blew it..._' The second of the two thoughts was what was troubling him the most.

He now realized the signs of trouble that had been obvious the moment Kikyou had shown up. Again he berated himself mentally for being stupid enough to just ignore them. It was obvious she was up to no good. But how could he just turn her away...

Then another thought hit him. If he had just left her, none of this would have happened, at least in theory it wouldn't have. If he had just controlled his anger around Kouga he wouldn't have been so distracted. If only one of his friends noticed sooner what was happening. If only she was awake right now. _If only_...

For the first time that day he realized that dwelling right now was doing him absolutely no good. But there wasn't exactly a whole lot he could do. There was no way he was leaving Kagome's side until she was fully healed, and even then it might be difficult to pry him from her. For the umpteenth time that day he took in her appearance. The blankets pulled up to her chin, the sleek main of hair sprawled out beneath her, the ghostly white pallor and the tear stains beneath her eyes.

That was something else he knew was his fault. Kikyou had insulted Kagome, but he wasn't even sure Kagome had heard. Apparently she had, and she also knew that he had done nothing to defend her against those harsh words. That would explain the tears. Even if they were nothing more, friends defend friends, and he had failed miserably in that department. He half expected her to sit him in her sleep, to wake up and be the shouting, full of life as Kagome always was. But, at the same time he also knew that was one of his stupidest thoughts of the day.

He noticed a slight shadow that was beginning to appear on Kagome's face. For the first time in hours, he removed his eyes from her face and glanced at the small window of the hut. Golden rays of dusk were creeping in. The sun was setting into the darkness of night. He knew that soon the others would join him. They had given him time and space due to the pity they must have felt for him. His expression after having reached Kagome as the arrow penetrated her skin must have been something to witness. But behind the pity they showed, he knew all of his friends were extremely angry with him for his actions and lack there of. It was his fault...

He closed his eyes for a moment, remembering the scenes from just hours before.

FLASHBACK

"_Kagome? Kagome!" Inu Yasha had screamed as he landed next to her, catching her as her body began to tumble from the impact of the sacred arrow. He watched her eyes, half sure that she wasn't actually seeing anything at all. But he could see enough. Her eyes showed the pain that she was in, though her cries didn't. There were no shrieks of pain, only soft moans. And they had not lasted all that long either. She had blacked out within moments of him catching her, and had not actually responded to any of their calls at all. _

_As soon as her eyes had closed, Inu Yasha went into a slight panic. He couldn't believe what was happening before his very eyes. He was losing everything again..._

_Gently, but quickly he scooped her limp body into his arms. Miroku and Sango were now at his side, their cries of her name and questions of her well being went unanswered. They had crowded around him, looking at their injured comrade. But as they began to close in, he gave them a stern look. It told them to move, that he was leaving now, and there was no way he was slowing down or waiting for them to catch up. _

_They must have realized his intentions through that look, for they had quickly backed off, Sango summoning Kilala. But he wasn't even around long enough to see them all climb onto her back. He was already running at top speed through the forests, a precious cargo in his arms. He had not attempted removing the arrow, not knowing if doing so would make matters worse. He just held her as carefully as he could as he ran faster than he thought possible to Kaede's hut..._

_Kaede had been outside, having just returned from picking some herbs. She saw the incoming half demon at a distance, and wondered slightly why he was carrying Kagome bridal style, but thought little of it as she returned to sorting her herbs._

_When he had gotten closer, she had then realized that there was something horribly wrong. It didn't look like Kagome was moving at all. He recalled the look of horror that had come across the old woman's face at the sight of one of Kikyou's arrows lodged in Kagome's chest. _

END FLASHBACK

From then on he had been at her side, aside from when Kaede was bandaging her, and that was after much insistence from Kaede that he take a short leave. He reopened his eyes, settling them once again on Kagome. Deciding that he should move before he got himself stuck in that position, he stood up. He walked the few steps that had separated them in seconds.

Twitching his ear slightly, he listened for her heartbeat. His nerves calmed somewhat when he realized it was still there, even if it was a little weaker than normal. He knew the sound of her heartbeat probably better than he knew his own. A small swell of emotion came over him at that thought. Since when did he notice such little things about Kagome?

He didn't bother to answer his own question, but he found himself reaching for her face. The back of his hand met with her cheek, and he was extremely surprised to feel how cold it was. Removing his hand, he stood up again and retrieved another blanket. He gently pulled it over her, taking special care as the material moved over her wound and up to her chin. Again his hand brushed against her skin, and he could feel his rough calluses catch slightly on the smoothness of her. He didn't have much time to relish that feeling however. Kaede had just reentered the hut, followed by Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kilala.

Each of them held a small portion of what would apparently be dinner tonight. He only gave them passing glances in order to determine their moods, then returned to his post. It was going to be one long night.

* * *

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	8. Pull Me In

Standard disclaimer applies.

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

**Pull Me In**

She groaned as her eyes opened. It was painful just to pull that off, vaguely she thought of just lying there, letting whatever may come, come. But she knew somehow that wasn't the right decision. Nothing would happen if she remained where she was. Unfortunately for her fatigued body she did have some common sense and knew that sleeping in the middle of nowhere wasn't a very good idea. After finally getting over the pain that it took to open her eyes, she looked around, pleased that almost all of the pain she had just been feeling began to recede into the recesses of her mind.

It was dark and cold, she could feel the uncertainty in the air that surrounded her. _'Wait is this actually air?'_ she thought, remembering that she was not in a type of place that she associated with the feudal era, which was where she was sure she had last been. Come to think of it, nothing around her even reminded her of earth at all. She squinted in her efforts to get a bearing on her surroundings. This helped her very little. She could see the flat and barren expanse of the ground beneath her, but was confused by why it was so barren. In any given direction she could see maybe ten feet ahead of her and no further. Beyond that was darkness. '_Just my luck to get stuck in some unfamiliar, dark, scary place with absolutely no one with me. How on earth did I get here anyway?_'

For some odd reason her memory was blank and unable to answer that question. This surprised her, usually she was pretty sharp when it came to how she got herself into trouble. All she could remember was that they were off to a rough start that day...

She creased her brow in frustration, not able to understand why she couldn't remember how she arrived in such a place. Equally as frustrating was that she couldn't recall any further into the day beyond lunch! Her frustration began to reach a breaking point when she realized that _something _important had happened today and she hadn't the slightest idea of how to make herself remember what the hell it was.

'_Calm down, let's just go through what you do remember... Let's see, Shippo and Inu Yasha woke us up at dawn bickering...and wouldn't stop even after being threatened...I had to actually sit Inu Yasha in the end...hmmm...then we started off a little later and Inu Yasha was in one of his moods...we had lunch after a bit of convincing....Oh! and then we ran into Kouga! and...and...and what?' _Again her memories came to a halt.

"Ahhhhh!" She cried in frustration. "Why does everything stop there! I know something else must've happened, otherwise I wouldn't be here!"

She slumped her shoulders after her outburst, defeated by her own lack of memory. This was going to be interesting. She stood there for a moment, contemplating what she should do next. It wasn't like she could see anything familiar, she was lucky she could see anything at all. It might not be a good idea to go anywhere, considering how similar everything looked shrouded in darkness. But being a sitting duck wasn't necessarily her piece of cake either. If anything she'd prefer to be moving.

"I guess I'll just have to look for an exit or something..." She mumbled as she looked around again at her surroundings. '_Like that helps, I have no clue where to even begin, where's Inu Yasha when you need him..._' She thought. At that, a slight pain blossomed unbidden in her chest.

"Ouch..." She brought her hands up to her chest where the pain had begun. She placed her hand over the skin just above her breast, feeling for something that might have caused the sudden twinge of pain.

Nothing. She found nothing, the pain was completely gone too. She shook her head, convinced that she must have just imagined the whole thing and was freaking herself out. '_But it felt so real..._'

She looked ahead of her with a new resolve. Something strange was going on, and she'd be damned if she was gonna be the one left in the dark. With a slight frown on her face and jump in her step, she began walking through the blackness, destination unknown.

* * *

Dinner had been a rather quiet affair. No one seemed to have anything to talk about, at least nothing that would help to lighten the mood, at any rate. Throughout the evening everyone's gazes kept lingering on Kagome, watching as she took in small breaths of air. There was a constant cloud of tension in the room, centered around the very cot that also held everyone's worries.

Inu Yasha had not moved from his post beside Kagome's resting form. He hadn't even really responded to anyone. The only replies he gave were grunts or nods of some sort. His own portion of dinner still lay untouched beside everyone else's now empty bowls. He might as well have just been a statue.

After setting down his bowl, Miroku began to make a suggestion.

"Sango, we should go into the village to restock on supplies," Miroku said. He inclined his head toward the demon slayer next to him. She took her last bite of food from her own bowl and set it down before responding.

"Yes, and maybe we should stay the night at the inn so it stays nice and quiet here for Kagome." Sango replied in an even tone. It was quite obvious what they both were trying to do.

"Then its decided, we should be off then," Miroku said as he stood up. Sango began to rise next to him. When she came to her full height she turned to Kaede.

"Please inform us of any change in her condition at all." Sango commanded, though Kaede knew that it wasn't a command, but that Sango was angry. Sango was never the greatest at hiding her anger from her words.

"Aye, I will. Ye should rest up. Kagome will be fine and she will be very upset if she finds out ye worried yourselves sick over her." Kaede said kindly.

Miroku noticed that Sango was going to reply, but he didn't like the look she was giving, so he quickly spoke before she even had the chance.

"Thank you Lady Kaede. You're right. We all need to rest. We'll be at the inn if anything happens. " He said as he turned, signifying their exit. Sango began to follow, but Shippo remained where he was, not realizing that he was supposed to go, or completely ignoring the implied. Sango decided she would be the one to deal with the small demon.

"Come on Shippo, we'll get you a few new toys in the village." Sango said in the most forced kind voice imaginable.

"I don't wanna leave Kagome, you guys go on ahead." He said nonchalantly, as if he didn't realize what they were trying to do. He just finished off his meal, and continued to sit comfortably in his spot.

"Shippo, come." Miroku ordered, his words held no room for conversation, but Shippo wasn't about to just give up. The little fox suddenly became infuriated. And being so young, he just let his words fly.

"Why should we leave! I want to stay here and watch out for Kagome! Why should he get to stay here alone with her! It's all his fault she's like this anyway! He could have stopped Kikyou, but he didn't! He doesn't deserve to stay here!" Shippo wailed, small tears coming to his angry eyes.

Sango and Miroku both stood in the entranceway with their mouths hung open. Shippo had just stated many of their own thoughts. Everyone was angry inside with Inu Yasha and his decision. When it came right down to it, they felt that everything could have been avoided if he had just been smarter about his actions. Cautiously Miroku lifted an eye to look over to where the half demon was seated. If Shippo's words had effected him, he didn't show it. Hell, it didn't look like he even heard the outburst. Usually Shippo would have quite a few bumps on his head at this time, but Inu Yasha hadn't even budged. Miroku turned to Sango with a confused look. She held the same look as him, she apparently had done the same thing as him and was equally amazed.

"Shippo, it will be better for ye to go with Sango and Miroku." Kaede stated plainly, not meeting anyone's eyes, but clearing the dishes from their meal.

"But...but" Shippo stammered until Miroku cut him off.

"No buts, come now Shippo, we'll be back at any word of change in Kagome's condition." Miroku stated in finality.

There was no choice in the matter, Shippo reluctantly got to his feet and began his small walk toward the door, muttering about the world being "cruel" and "unfair". He stopped at the door and looked back on the sleeping form of Kagome, tears welling up in his eyes once again. He let out a small sigh that sounded a lot like idiot, before exiting the hut. Miroku and Sango immediately followed suit.

Inu Yasha seemed unfazed by his friends' exit. Kaede, however was now fidgeting with some medicinal herbs she had. It was quite obvious by her actions that she was slightly uncomfortable with the present circumstances. She too was upset with the hanyou. But for herself, there wasn't much of an excuse to take leave, this was her hut after all. So she continued to fiddle with her herbs, trying to formulate some sort of plan to allow herself to leave the hut.

* * *

The silence was long and uneasy, but it only seemed to be grating on one of the occupants' nerves. She was still unable to come up with any sort of excuse to leave, and she was about ready to just give up and walk out without one. But before she could open her mouth, the statue beside Kagome decided to speak.

"I don't care if I make you uneasy, old woman," he began, his voice oozing with anger. "I'm not leaving, so if you don't want to be near me, you're going to have to get out."

Kaede was slightly shocked at the fact that Inu Yasha spoke, being that he had been silent for hours. But that shock did not stop her from realizing what he had said.

"Let me remind ye Inu Yasha, that this is my hut that you are currently in. You should show more respect," Kaede replied. But one look at the half demon told her that this was not an argument she was going to win today. So without further delay, she gathered a small portion of her things and exited the hut, planning on going to the same inn that the others were currently at.

Again silence came over the area. Inu Yasha looked around, greeted by the emptiness that surrounded him. He couldn't blame them all for being upset with him. He knew it was his fault. '_Damn...' _was the only thought that was coming to mind. He brought his gaze back to Kagome, and noticed that she had begun to shiver slightly. Without any thought he removed his fire rat robe, and gently laid it over the mound of blankets already covering the sleeping girl. Swiftly he brushed his hand against her forehead. His eyebrows furrowed in worry as he realized her temperature was still rising. He knew this fever was now getting to the dangerous level for humans. If it didn't break soon, Kagome might die.

He growled at that thought. He wasn't going to just let her die, right under his nose. '_Damn it! what the hell can I do to help her! I'm completely helpless!' _His anger was getting the better of him. His adrenaline was beginning to kick in, and if he didn't start controlling his anger, his demon side was going to take over...

* * *

Kagome continued on in her venture through the darkness.

"Ughh! Everything looks the same! I'm not getting anywhere!" She yelled out in frustration. She had been walking for what seemed like forever, and there was absolutely no end nor reassurances in sight. This was starting to get disheartening.

"If only Inu Yasha were here...at least he'd be able to smell his way out..." She rambled on in near hopelessness. She lowered herself to the ground in order to gather her thoughts and give herself a well-deserved break. She removed the loafers that she normally wore and gently massaged her aching feet. This action brought her to thoughts of journeying with the others. '_Inu Yasha would never let me just stop like this...He's always in so much of a rush... It's not like we can all go on and on like him..._' These thoughts brought a small smile to her features. Just the thought of Inu Yasha and her friends gave her a new reason to keep going and get out of where ever she was. But she did allow herself the luxury of finishing her foot massage.

When she finished, she brought herself upright. Looking around, she picked a direction. She set off, in hopes of some sort of way out.

Again she found herself becoming fatigued. She was still submersed in complete darkness. She slowed her pace, until eventually she came to a halt.

"Not again..." She whispered in a low tone.

She was letting herself get down again. Things just weren't going very well, and she knew it. She was about to sink down, when she felt a slight pain in her chest.

"Huh?" She was completely confused, the only time she got this pain was when...

"Inu Yasha!" She screamed out. It was all to clear to her. He was going to become a full demon again if she didn't reach him soon. Her aura purified his demon one, and no one else aside from Kikyou could do that.

"Please Inu Yasha! Where are you!" She was very close to tears. She hated when Inu Yasha became full demon. It was like he lost himself, became a mindless beast. And no matter how much he claimed to want to become a full demon, she knew he feared losing control.

"Inu Yasha! Please let me help you!" Kagome wailed out as she burst into tears. She didn't know how she could reach her hanyou.

* * *

Inu Yasha's eyes had begun to take on a slightly red hue. He was losing control and he knew it. His whole body began to shake as his aura began to change into that of a full demon.

'_Damn...I can't...I can't stop it!' _Even with the tetsuiga at his side, he was still transforming. He was losing control, and there was nothing within his reach to bring it back. Only Kagome could...

At the thought of her, he heard a voice. It was far away, but so soothing to all both sides of him. His demon form seemed to calm, giving him back his control, little by little. He strained to hear the voice.

"Inu Yasha!" he heard the call. It was so desperate, like it was pleading with him. He continued to push himself to hear this voice.

"Please Inu Yasha! Where are you!" The voice was frantic. Wait, he recognized this voice! But how could it be? There was no way it could be her.

"Inu Yasha! Please let me help you!" That was it, he knew exactly whose voice that was.

"KAGOME!" He yelled out, not knowing where she could be, considering her body was lying right next to him swaddled in blankets. He looked around quickly, trying to find where her voice could have come from, but was met with no explanation. He was utterly confused, and he had no time to sort out his thoughts.

Before he even realized what was happening, he was on the floor, completely unconscious.

* * *

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	9. If Only You Would Let Me

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

**If Only You Would Let Me**

Slowly and painfully he opened his eyes, dually registering the ache that seemed to be shooting through his brain. He was tempted to just keep his eyes closed for a moment, but then he remembered something.

"Kagome..." He mumbled, bringing his amber eyes fully open. His eyes widened when he realized he couldn't see anything but darkness. Quickly he bolted to his feet. This place was already alarming him, and he hadn't been there long at all. What was worse is that he didn't have any clue as to how he had come to be in here. He stuck his nose into the air, sniffing desperately for any scent at all.

"Damn..." Inu Yasha mumbled. There were absolutely no scents or auras that were detectable to him. A light growl began to rise in his throat.

He couldn't see anything, couldn't smell anything, and there didn't look to be a way out from his current point of view.

"What the hell!" he screamed out in frustration. Great, he was stuck at the beginning of some dark maze with no clue where the end was and absolutely no plan as to what course of action he should take.

On instinct his hand quickly went to the Tetsaiga's hilt. There was no way he was gonna be caught off guard and defenseless. His ears gave a light twitch in their new found alertness. In his mind he tried to piece together some sort of plan for escaping. Unfortunately for him, nothing was coming to mind. There just didn't seem to be any kind of way to develop a plan when he felt so blind. Then a thought came to him.

"Maybe someone brought me here..." he mused to himself.

He rifled through his most recent memories. He remembered being on the brink of loosing control, to turning into a full demon even though the Tetsaiga had been by his side. But then she had saved him from himself, like always. Kagome's voice alone had been enough to stop him. This path brought a new question up.

Her voice. He hadn't been able to tell where it was coming from. It was as if she was there, within his reach, but she wasn't. He knew all to well she was still laying helplessly on that bed. But that didn't make any sense either. Her lips had never moved, yet there was no other body that voice could have belonged too. How exactly could he have heard her?

"Maybe Kagome is here too..." He pondered how something like this was even possible. He searched his surroundings once more, looking for something that would hint at Kagome's presence. He was once again disappointed by its bleakness. Knowing that it was useless to look around right now, he decided to try and remember everything that had happened the previous night. '_After the transformation stopped, I just blacked out.'_

Inu Yasha wrinkled his nose at this. There was no pain that had caused his unconsciousness, and he wasn't one to suddenly up and faint. He did remember having a severe head ache when he woke up in this place, but that was the only pain that he could recall.

He grunted as he realized that he would get no further with his current path of thought, he returned to his musings of Kagome. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that Kagome was in this place somewhere as well. And if he was right, like he was sure he was, he needed to find her, and quickly. Then he could get them both out of here.

Looking once more about himself, Inu Yahsa chose a direction and took off. He was determined to find and bring Kagome back no matter what.

* * *

Kagome was just starting to settle down. She was so worried about Inu Yasha. Streaks of tears were still evident on her cheeks, her eyes were slightly puffy and tear-filled. She wasn't crying as hard anymore, but a few drops were still escaping her eyes.

She couldn't explain it, but she just knew that he needed her help, and she wasn't there with him. This thought caused new tears to spring to her eyes, but she held them back as best she could. Crying never helped anyone do anything. Everything seemed okay now though. That feeling, whatever it was, had disappeared and all that was left in its wake was a feeling of loneliness and despair, emotions Kagome never liked. She sunk to her knees. Her thoughts were so jumbled and she felt overwhelmed. Her little outburst had cost her a lot of energy. And still, she had gotten nowhere in this god forsaken place! What the hell was she supposed to do now!

New tears of frustration began to mingle with the old ones. 'Why can't my life be simple?' She wondered. Others may have said a prayer in this position, but not Kagome. With all the evil she had seen in the world, she seriously doubted the existence of a higher power. No, she wasn't pessimistic or anything of the sort, she just believed that people were masters of their own destinies. She also believed that there was good in everyone, just not everyone showed it or had much of it at all. But with her philosophy came a responsibility for herself. She knew she couldn't count on a higher power to save her; she would have to do it or have someone help her.

"Inu Yasha…" she whispered. He was always the one she could count on. When it came down to it, he could save her and make everything okay. A few thoughts of him began to comfort her. She could feel her eyes becoming drier. The sea of emotions that had claimed her was beginning to ebb.

She shifted into a more comfortable position on the ground. It would be fruitless to try and search for anything in her current state. A good nap would ease her mind and regenerate her body. The ground was neither comfortable nor uncomfortable; it lacked its own texture. The air in this place seemed to stay constant and it really didn't feel hot or cold. It was hard to say if there even was a temperature. Kagome's body gave a slight shiver. This place was eerie and definitely not somewhere that she would willingly spend her time. But it was of no matter right now. She laid herself down, positioning herself in the most comfortable position she could find. Her arms came up to her head and crossed, creating a semi-comfortable pillow. Brief thoughts of someone finding her came to her mind, but she dismissed them. If someone did find her while she slept it was very likely that they would find her even if she didn't stop to rest.

Kagome laid there in silence, waiting for the escape that comes with the world of dreams.

* * *

His temper was starting to rise as he continued his journey into the darkness. He had to have been searching for a good two hours now, and still he felt like he had gotten nowhere.

Of course, the bleakness of the area wasn't helping. He couldn't tell whether he had been past certain places or not, and for once his nose could not aid his eyes. Being one with keen senses, he was used to relying on them. A feeling of helplessness was beginning to claim him, the only thing that kept him from giving in was his enormous ego. Inu Yasha couldn't help but wonder why there were no scents in this place. It was one of the strangest things he had ever come across. No matter where he went, there was always a scent that could be associated with the place. Here, there was none.

Regardless, he was still hell bent on finding the raven haired girl that had called out to him. In all honesty he was beginning to become slightly afraid of what could have become of Kagome. Though he couldn't sense anyone in this place it didn't mean there wasn't someone else in here.

Subconsciously he began to move faster, hoping to find her before anything else. It was almost as if the place could read his mind. A small dot came into sight ahead of him. It was huddled against the ground and little else could be perceived about it. 'Kagome…' he thought. His heart began to beat more rapidly in anticipation. He was sure that this figure had to be his Kagome.

As he got closer and closer he could make out a white shirt and green skirt, but he still could not smell her at all. Things just didn't add up in this place.

"She's on the ground? What the hell happened to her?" He wondered out loud. There didn't seem to be any reason why she would be lying down unless she was… He stopped himself at that thought. There was no way that could have happened, not here and not to her. His mind was now racing. 'No she can't be… how could this happen!' Everything began to blur slightly in his sight, but he made sure that her figure stayed clearly in his view.

When he finally came upon her he sunk down to his knees next to her. His eyes scanned her body for injury while his ears picked up her steady heart beat and he could feel a wave of relief wash over him. He couldn't stop himself; before he knew it he had pulled her body against his in a firm embrace. His arms held her to him tightly, like he would never let go. It was rare that he did things like this, yet here he was. What was it about this girl that made him so spontaneous? Why did he worry so much about her? Why did his heart speed up when he thought she was gone? He couldn't answer any of these questions, but found himself content to just hold her for now.

* * *

The last thing that she expected to be awakened by was Inu Yasha. She also really found it odd that he was holding her right now, and he was definitely holding on tight. She relished the feeling of being in his arms. There was so much comfort for her there and it was already known how she felt about him. Never had she actually said the words 'I love you' but she had implied it many times.

Her senses began to return to her and she began to wonder why he was holding her. Inu Yasha didn't do things like this, and even more rarely did he do them without a reason for it. However, these thoughts did not stop a small blush from spreading its way onto her cheeks. She couldn't stop herself; it was a purely involuntary reaction. Her body began to become aware of just how close he was to her. His warm breath was brushing over her neck, sending shivers down her spine, and she was pressed up against him. She began to feel uncomfortably warm. When she realized these things, she began to push herself back from him.

He let her go willingly, allowing her to draw herself away from him. She had every right to not want to be near him. 'I don't even deserve her,' he thought to himself as he recalled certain events from earlier in the day. He ran out of time for his self pity when he heard Kagome speak.

"Inu Yasha?" Her voice was low, and it seemed to just want to make sure he was there. He lifted his eyes to meet hers, to tell her that he was real and that he was here with her. She gave him a small smile and some of the tension visibly left her body. It was amazing how much just him being there could do for her.

"Do you know where we are?" She asked. She was so tired of being confused right about now. Hopefully he would have more of a clue than her.

"I was gonna ask you that," he said, backing away from her slightly. His words were hesitant, as if he did not want to speak at all. For Inu Yasha this was unusual, and Kagome took note of it.

"Is there something wrong Inu Yasha?" Kagome questioned. A small fear began to take root in her heart. If Inu Yasha was worried about something then they could be in trouble. He was always the confident one, it was strange to see him so tentative. A silence came over them, giving Kagome's mind some time to wander. Why couldn't they just be left alone? Wasn't Naraku a big enough obstacle for them? It didn't make sense that they were always the ones being tormented by evil.

"Uhhh…" Inu Yasha stumbled over his words. He wasn't exactly sure he should say anything, but he knew that he had to now that he had gotten her attention. Her eyes looked at him inquiringly, begging him to say whatever it was that was on his mind. He looked away from her and began to speak.

"Well I'm not exactly sure how we got here." He said tersely, not meeting her eyes with his own. Again he let silence fall upon them. He knew his answer had done nothing to help clear things up with Kagome, but he was also slightly afraid to talk to her right now. She was acting so normal towards him. Had she forgotten what had happened only hours before? He couldn't be sure what was on her mind, so he thought it better to let her push the conversation as she would. The last thing he wanted to do was get her upset, which he was sure was bound to happen anyway.

"You don't remember how you got here either? Hmm… this is so weird…" She began, her brow furrowing. Her small hand came up to her chin as she thought. "It's strange, I can't remember much from right before I passed out. Usually I'm not that bad." She said giving him a faint smile as she turned to face him. She was hoping that her small joke would lighten the mood, but Inu Yasha only seemed to grow more uncomfortable. '_There's something he knows that he won't tell me_,' she thought. A twinge of anger gripped her heart. Here they were, basically lost and he couldn't trust her with whatever he was hiding.

"You know something," she said frankly. At this he finally brought his head up and looked at her. He could see the small anger that was obvious in the light of her brown eyes. She knew that he wasn't telling her something, and she was right. This made him even more defensive.

"Feh, I don't know what you're talking about." It was the only thing he could say. There was no way that he could think of to actually tell her what had happened.

"Ahhh! You're so stubborn sometimes Inu Yasha!" She yelled in frustration, her face scrunching up as she did so. "I am useful you know! I have a brain too!"

"Well you don't like using it that often!" He bit back quickly on instinct. Immediately he regretted saying anything. Her eyes flickered with hurt at his retort, but then they flared with the anger and spirit that was the Kagome he knew so well.

"You're not one to talk! You're the one always rushing into things and making brash decisions!" Kagome replied bitterly. She wasn't even facing him now, she had her hands thrown up in the air and was mumbling to herself about stupid ungrateful half demons. But after a few moments she came to realize that Inu Yasha had not said anything to her insult. At this she turned around and looked at him. Rarely did Inu Yasha back down from anything, and this was a very strange happening indeed.

"You're right…" He said, his voice hoarse and barely above a whisper. His eyes were glued to the ground in guilt.

Kagome could only stare at him. What was he so strung out about? This was one weird day indeed. She approached him and stood directly in front of him. Her insides churned slightly with nervousness. He could always turn her into mush, and she knew it. But right now she had a resolution to be strong. She was still not in his line of vision, being that he was looking down.

"Inu Yasha?" She whispered. His eyes came up to meet hers. There were very few times when he had ever had that look on his face, and even less times when she had actually seen it. Everything was so jumbled in her mind and she found that all she could do was stare into his guilt laden orbs. Then everything clicked.

She pulled back quickly, extracting herself from his reach. His hand shot forward as if to grab her. It all came rushing back. She could hear the sounds of brawling, remembered her hurried steps toward them, the first arrow being deflected...

"Kagome…" He pleaded. She let her head drop and she brought her arms about herself in a hug.

"I understand…" she whispered.

The last thing he saw was two small shining crystals fall from her cheek before everything turned once again to dark.

* * *

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	10. Love That I Hate

Here is the next installment. For anyone who has read this fic, I apologize for such a long wait. Hopefully this chapter fits the story that began so long ago. I expect there to be one more chapter along with an Epilogue still to come. If you notice any mistakes, feel free to let me know and I will correct them as soon as possible. I don't have an editor, so any help is appreciated! Thank you for reading!

Standard disclaimer applies.

**CHAPTER 9**

**Love That I Hate**

"Inu Yasha! Inu Yasha! Wake up! What the hell did you do!" Sango was about to smack him across the face but her hand was stopped by Kaede's. She would have none of this violence here, it served no purpose.

"It won't do ye well to hurt him, he's stirring." She stated.

Sango didn't doubt that it wouldn't do him well, but it would certainly aid her. She wanted to pound him into the floor he laid upon. When they left last night Kagome may not have been fine, but she was in better shape than she was right now!

How dare he lie there asleep! Not only had he caused this whole damnable situation, he had let Kikyou do this to her! How dare he pretend to care! Couldn't he see that with every move he made he caused Kagome more pain! She raised her hand again, her thoughts and emotions written across her face. She wanted nothing more than for him to know Kagome's pain, but she would be unable to deal such a blow. She would just have to settle for this instead.

"It would do ye well to control yourself!" Kaede scolded. Those ruled by their emotions did nothing but make foolish decisions. Sango shrunk away from both Kaede and Inu Yasha opting instead to move around to the other side of them, where Kagome was situated.

She did not take her eyes off of the demon slayer as she tapped the side of Inu Yasha's face.

"Rise now Inu Yasha," she demanded.

Inu Yasha's brows knit together tightly and his jaw clenched. He let out a growl as he opened his eyes, hands immediately going to his head. _'Ow Ow Ow! What the hell! It feels like someone dropped a boulder on my head!'_

"What happened to Kagome while we were gone? What did you do!" Sango demanded. He may have just awoken but she did not care. She lowered her eyes to Kagome, her finger brushing her wrist in search of pulse. The small vibrations she could feel barely past as such. The poor girl was nearly dead! How could he have let this happen?

"Would ya shut your trap! If you haven't noticed I'm in pain here!" Inu Yasha shot back, his ears were now flat against his head. _'What's her problem! Did Miroku go on a lecherous...' _He didn't have time to complete his thoughts before Sango was hovering over him, a murderous gleam in her eyes.

"What did you do to Kagome?"

'_Kagome? Why would I do anything to Kagome?' _Inu Yasha removed his hands from his head and sniffed the air while glancing over to the cot on which Kagome had been resting. She was still there. '_What the hell is Sango going on about? She's...' _His nose took in her scent, something was wrong. Something wasn't smelling quite right. Something wasn't there.

"Well?" Sango pressed. She had allowed him the ability to come to grips with his surroundings, she was done being courteous.

Inu Yasha continued to ignore her, he had greater concerns. He bolted upright and pulled himself to Kagome's cot, forcing Sango to back away so that he could examine the girl. He brought one clawed hand up and trailed it lightly against Kagome's forehead. A gasp left his lips. Her skin was clammy and cold. He could feel a knotted ball of panic forming in his stomach. Before he had fallen unconscious she had been burning up. Now her skin was icy to the touch. She was practically hypothermic!

Despite being able to hear her slow heartbeat he reached for her wrist. _'It has to be there...it has to...' _He was practically frantic when he did not feel the strong and persistent thump rising to his fingers. He could hear if for god's sake! Why couldn't he feel it! Running his fingers down further and pressing a bit harder he finally found what he was looking for. The breath that had been caught in his throat found its way free.

Sango was just about to open her mouth again when Inu Yasha stood and turned toward them.

"What happened?" He asked angrily.

"We left you alone and when we came back to check on her she was like this!" The accusing tone she was using was not lost on Inu Yasha. "Miroku is chasing what he believes to be _her soul_ into the forest! Now answer me, what did you do to her?"

Inu Yasha was stunned. Her soul? What was her soul doing outside of her body? He was just with her! She seemed fine. Upset, certainly, but she was hardly soulless. A soul didn't leave a body unless it was for good. But Kagome wasn't dead, why would her it leave? How had things gone so wrong so quickly?

"How long ago did you arrive here?" He asked, his tone left no room for question. Death was not a subject he would toy with.

"Maybe five minutes, not even." Sango replied. He finally looked up at her and she met his eyes with what she knew was a glare. She was unable to hold it. The look in his eyes startled her. There was clearly anger written upon them along with hurt and an indescribable pain. She backed away from him, practically jumping. What had happened here? He was wearing a look as if Kagome was going to die, as if she had died already. Suddenly she found herself with no voice as her eyes widened in despair. _'No please...'_

"Which way did Miroku go?"

Sango slipped to her knees beside Kagome. She did not respond. She couldn't.

Kaede stepped up, making her presence known to the half demon. He moved his eyes to her, demanding the information. She simply pointed out the door and into the forest. There was little more she could do.

* * *

"I'm going, take care of Kagome," Inu Yasha said to Sango. Some how the demon slayer managed to nod. He merely glanced at Kaede as he rushed out the door. But she understood him. This matter, it had everything to do with her sister.

Miroku continued running after the glowing orb. He didn't understand how such a thing was possible, but he had no time to stand and dwell upon the matter. If his instincts were correct, the thing he was following was a soul. Kagome's soul. The implications of such a thing held serious consequences. Souls did not willingly leave bodies, they were taken from them. Kagome would die if he couldn't figure out some way to stop the ball of light he was chasing. Nothing made sense.

Hadn't they all suffered enough? Why was their friend now being pulled away too? And most of all, where the hell was she going?

The specter wasn't moving at a break neck speed, but it didn't have the obstacles that a forest floor presented to hop over, run through, and otherwise avoid. His chest was heaving as he ran haphazardly dodging and jumping over what he could. It was impossible to find a completely clear path. The bottoms of his robes were torn thanks to the lovely and oh so painful bushes with dangerously sharp branches that seemed to spring up out of nowhere. He could feel numerous trails of blood making their way down his legs. He did his best to ignore the little aches, but found that his pace was slowing. Despite his best efforts Miroku was falling behind.

He heard a rustling noise behind him and cursed his luck. The last thing he needed was to have disturbed some demon. Glancing back he wasn't sure whether he was relieved or even more concerned. Inu Yasha was springing through the undergrowth after him. The look on his face confirmed what he had feared. Kagome was going to die if she wasn't already dead.

"It went that way!" Miroku yelled out as the half demon passed him. He didn't even so much as acknowledge that he'd heard a thing. He just kept going, eyes set firmly on Kagome's soul.

* * *

Inu Yasha knew where it was going. His nose caught Kikyou's scent and it was mixed with water meaning she was at _that place._ He could see it in his mind's eye. The stream gently flowing down the rocks, tumbling to continue its journey onward. The clearing he remembered standing in, staring at a young priestess as she conversed with him, the first time a human had done so without the intent to harm him. She had chosen a place that would play to her advantage. He both hated and loved that place. It was where his life had begun to take shape, where he had first met a young priestess, where he had fallen in love. He hated himself for loving it. If he had never come here then things would have been different. Perhaps Kikyou would still be alive. Perhaps Naraku would never have risen. Perhaps his friends wouldn't be suffering.

Moments later he emerged upon the stream bed and sure enough he spotted Kikyou collapsed on the trunk of a tree, her soul snatchers surrounding her. Forgetting himself, he began to rush toward her. It was his nose that stopped him, that reminded him. The smell of clay overwhelmed his senses and he was again made aware of just how fake the body before him was.

This Kikyou had shot Kagome. This Kikyou was not the woman he loved. Nostalgia nearly made him forget himself. His jaw clenched, teeth grinding. He forced himself to look away.

In his peripheral vision he caught a movement and was quick to follow it. Kikyou's soul snatchers snaked through the air toward the ball of light approaching that had continued to move through the clearing. It seemed obvious what they would want, this was the soul of a young girl after all. Inu Yasha was about to draw his sword until he noticed that upon touching the light that the orb emitted the creatures disintegrated. The ball continued on its path unaffected, unimpeded. It was headed straight for Kikyou.

Inu Yasha found himself frozen. Those demons sustained the fallen priestess. Without them, she would surely die again. He did not want that. He could not accept that. She was not the woman she formerly was, but to die again? She did not deserve such a thing. The half demons was torn. What action could he take against a soul? Especially _Kagome's_ soul.

Miroku finally arrived and burst through the bushes in time to witness the ball of light destroy the last of the soul snatchers. His eyes widened at this. '_Is its goal to do away with Kikyou?' _He discarded that theory upon watching the orb continue moving toward Kikyou. If the intent had been to kill Kikyou then doing away with her form of sustenance would have been enough. There would be no reason to continue on such a path unless...

"Inu Yasha! You must stop her!" Miroku called out.

'_If she absorbs that soul then Kagome will perish! Why is Kagome doing this! She can't!'_

"You don't think I know that?" He yelled back. But how exactly did one stop a soul? It was not tangible, and he couldn't fight it! He did the only thing he could and with two quick movements he found himself on the tree trunk mere inches from Kikyou, the only thing between her and Kagome's soul.


	11. Life of a Soul

Standard Disclaimer applies

**CHAPTER 10**

**Life of a Soul**

His mind was racing. There had to be something he could do. Anything. Why was nothing coming to him? Why was he so useless? His anger was growing and he could feel hot tears in his eyes. They would not fall. He would give them no reason to. He would stop this.

"Are you awake Kikyou?" He asked. His voice was low and tense. He did not face her.

She stirred, eyes opening slowly. A grin crept across her face when the half demon's back came into focus. Perfect.

"Inu Yasha, you came. Does this mean you have chosen to be with me?" She replied, her voice soft, too soft. It sounded like she was dying. He forced himself not to turn to her. His head drooped.

"I told you that I can't! You're not the Kikyou that you once were. You have to stop this," he begged her. Whatever piece of her that was his Kikyou had to know how hard this was for him. She knew how he had felt.

"I've done nothing to bring that soul here. It has come of its own will." She responded. His restraint was gone and he turned to face her. _'Desperation, how beautiful' _she thought. His eyes sought hers and she let them connect. He was always vulnerable when she allowed him this small intimacy. For a moment she felt a stab of pain in her chest. _'Don't do this to him...' _She pushed it down. She would not let this moment pass her by. This was what she wanted, the soul was practically with her grasp!

"I could be me. That soul...I'd be whole again. Don't you want that?" She asked. Her eyes drifted shut and her breathing became more labored. She was weak.

"I can't let you take Kagome in the process, she doesn't deserve this..." He didn't know what else to say but it was the truth.

He could not pull his eyes from Kikyou's form, the crumpled being she had become. If there was anything else, _anything _he would do it. But he could not do this. Kagome had done nothing but help them all, love them all. Where was the justice in sending her to death? He wouldn't do it.

Kikyou slouched forward, pushing her body from the ground. Her stance was awkward, her body ready to collapse. She leaned upon the massive roots of the tree for support. 'No' was not an answer she would accept. Her eyes locked on his once more.

He could not refuse, she wouldn't let him.

"Inu Yasha don't be silly, it's me you love and I..." her voice was fading. She could see the look in his eyes, the pain. This was what she needed. This would bring him to her side. With a great effort she pushed the last of her sentence from her lips. "I love you."

Her strength was gone and she could no longer support herself, she was falling.

Inu Yasha wasted no time in rushing toward her, catching her body with his. She was his weakness. His guard dropped as he held onto his long lost love. For a moment he forgot the world, the life hanging on by a thread and relying on his actions. His eyes were shut tightly, willing this to be real.

As he took comfort in Kikyou's embrace the soul slipped by. He felt a warmth pass by his cheek along with a cold hand. The mix startled him and he found himself staring at Kikyou, a malicious grin painted across her face.

He quickly disengaged himself from her and jumped back, disgusted with his own weak heart. _'Kagome's soul, where is it?' _Looking around and sniffing the air did nothing to help him locate it. Fear crept over his body. _'No, no she couldn't have!' _He turned back to Kikyou.

Inu Yasha's eyes widened. Her skin began to glow and her body began to take on the scent she had carried for so many years. The scent of one who was still alive. Gone was the overbearing odor of clay and death.

"No! No stop! Give it back! It isn't yours!" Inu Yasha cried out. That warmth upon his cheek, it wasn't Kikyou. It was Kagome. It was Kagome giving herself, her soul, to Kikyou.

He tried to move closer but found that he could not. He was too late. There was a boundary of light separating the two. Her body was being lifted off the ground by an unseen force. There was nothing he could do and so the half demon stood and watched as the seconds crept by and Kikyou continued to glow, the brightness moving throughout her body. _'Kagome's soul...Kikyou's soul, they're the same. Will she...'_

"N-No..."

The words were muffled but he was sure he heard them. Was Kikyou rejecting the soul? That didn't seem feasible as the two shared the same soul. Kagome was her reincarnation. Wouldn't that mean Kikyou could live again?

Quickly he looked away. He couldn't believe himself. He was practically rejoicing at the idea of having Kikyou, his Kikyou, back. For all he knew Kagome was dead and here he was, letting it all happen. _'I'm a monster...'_ Tears were springing to his eyes. _'I've killed her...I let her die. She needed me...' _

"Inu Yasha!" It was a strangled cry, but loud and clear. He moved his hand quickly across his eyes, wiping away the unwanted reminders and looked up. She looked to be in pain. Her eyes too were watering.

"How could you?" He couldn't believe his ears. Wasn't this what she wanted? Hadn't she been the one to say she could be her old self? She embraced him, told him she loved him.

A blinding light came over the area. For a moment his senses were completely dulled. He could see, hear, and smell absolutely nothing. In his panic he moved toward where he knew her to be. No barrier was present to stop him this time.

As his senses began to return and the light receded he found himself right below where Kikyou was hovering. The last bits of light were absorbed by her chest and she fell lifelessly out of the sky. He leapt up to take her in his arms, breaking her fall. He could feel her trembling. He could also feel her skin, her _warm _skin. This was her, the priestess he loved.

Cradling her to his chest he found that there was no joy in his heart for this occasion. It ached. He looked into the face of Kikyou and could not help but see Kagome.

But it wasn't Kagome.

Kagome was dead.

He found himself burying his face into Kikyou's neck. He needed something, anything to drown out the pain that was threatening to consume him.

She was panting and her chest was still glowing, though now it was fading. In a series of jerky movements Inu Yasha was forced to back away from her body. His arms were still holding her, supporting her as a tiny sliver was thrust from her chest. She fell back into him, her body seemingly spent. He picked her up and moved to examine the item that had been expelled.

"What?"

It was easy to tell what it was. Shikon jewel shards had become a part of his life and he would be able to identify one from a mile away. This one was still contaminated with the evil of Naraku. The light surrounding it made quick work of expelling the dark forces within. His hand shot out to retrieve the shard.

'_Is this what was...' _His thoughts were interrupted by groans coming from the woman in his arms.

"You...you must..." it sounded as though she was having trouble taking in air, as if her lungs had not worked in years. He set her down gently, hands still supporting her back so that she could sit up. She was frail. He shushed her but she would have none of it.

"Take her...take her from here..." She choked out. "She will...perish. You must... you must return her to her time!" Promptly she began coughing, her head bowed and her hands came up to cover her mouth. Her entire body shook.

"But what about you? You're..." He tilted her chin back up toward him. He couldn't believe his eyes. Gone was the smooth complexion of a young woman. Wrinkles were slowly beginning to line her features, settling into her skin. Strands of her hair began to gray and her eyes were losing the light of her youth.

"What's happening to you?" He demanded. _'Not both of them! You can't! You just cant!'_

"Do you not care for her? Do you wish her dead? Return her...time...time is short..." Kikyou rasped out.

"Inu Yasha! You must go now!" Miroku yelled out. He understood what was happening. The return of the soul that both Kagome and Kikyou shared had caused her to begin aging. Soon she would be older than Kaede, the form she would have taken on had she not been struck down all those years ago.

"I...please, take her to Kaede. She needs help." Inu Yasha responded. Miroku was running toward him. He set her in his arms as gently as possible before bounding off. Taking one last look back he cringed at the way her skin was hanging from her face. It wasn't fair how her life was still being drained and she had not been able to live it.

The forest was blurry to his eyes, but he managed to navigate it faster than he ever had before. But it wasn't enough, he pushed himself to move faster as he couldn't stand the pace he was at. He had been too late one too many times, he would not be so again. He could see the hut in the distance. Pressing on, he prayed that he would not be hindered by Kaede or Sango. A second could mean Kagome's life.

* * *

"Her heart, it's practically stopped beating!" Sango was becoming frantic. There was nothing they could do for Kagome. They barely even knew what was wrong!

"We must be patient. Inu Yasha may be able to remedy this," Kaede responded. She could only pray that the half demon made the right choice.

Her thoughts seemed to produce Inu Yasha. He burst through the door drawing concerned stares from the two conscious occupants. He paid no mind to them and barged up to Kagome's bedside and hoisted her into his arms, blankets and all. Her body curled into him. He always did like the way it felt to carry her but he did not have time to ponder these feelings. Moving quickly he made a bee line for the door.

"Inu Yasha what do you think you're doing! She's in no condition for this!" Sango yelled after him. She called for Kilala when he didn't stop and continued on. If necessary she would chase him down. He was going crazy.

* * *

Each step brought him closer to the well, closer to ensuring Kagome would be alright. Her skin was still icy to the touch. He was thankful for the blankets. He wasn't sure how he would react to feeling more of her skin at this inhuman temperature. Her scent was fading. Gone was the warm flowery odor of Kagome and in its wake she was being replaced by nothing. It was as if she were simply disappearing. His heart ached at the thought. He should have known better.

They were close. He was just beginning to run up the hill leading up to the well. It was starting to come in to sight.

"Please don't be too late..." He whispered. Finally he was upon the old well. Without pause he lunged down into it, the glow of time travel surrounding them. He closed his eyes to shield them from the light and to stem the dizziness he always felt when traveling between times.

His ears perked up as his nose sniffed the air. The bundle was struggling in his arms. _'I wasn't too late. She's...she's safe.' _He hugged her to his body and allowed his eyes to open. He made no effort to stop the tears that had gathered in his eyes. A few were falling down his cheeks and into her hair.

"Hurts...Inu Yasha...Stop. Please." Her voice was music to his ears. For a moment he didn't respond to her words, just cherished their existence. When he felt her hands pushing lightly on his chest he moved back.

"No, why are you here? Why am I still here" She asked. She was clutching her chest over where her bandages were. Her head was down but he could hear the emotion in her voice. She was crying.

"Kagome..." He knew he needed to say something. But what could he say? I'm sorry for letting you attempt suicide but I just wanted to see Kikyou so badly? How much more would he be allowed to hurt her?

The shard he had tucked into his robe pushed out, ripping the cloth. It moved toward the raven haired girl. He went to reach for it but found himself sinking.

"What the...?"

He was being pulled back to his time! But he didn't want to go yet! He had to make sure she got help! He had to make sure she'd be okay. He tried to grab on to things around him, but the only thing within his reach was Kagome. Without a choice he grasped her arms firmly. Her eyes came up to meet his. Her cheeks were streaked with tears but her eyes held a clear message. He was to go back. She didn't want him here. Her eyes clamped shut promptly, the last of her tears falling down her cheeks.

Again the light of time travel surrounded him. He yelled out but found that there was no sound. _'No! No! She needs me! I need her! God damn it NO!' _His eyes opened again and with a sniff of the air he knew where he was. There were no strange noises and he knew the sun was shining overhead. His fists began to pound the dirt upon which he sat. Only one thought passed through his mind.

'_No...'_

_

* * *

_Tell me what you think, review please! I think there's just one more chapter to go, but who knows!


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